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ANNALS   AND   ANTIQUITIES 
OF    RAJASTHAN 


COLONEL   JAMES  TOD. 

(From  the  bust  by  Vo.  Livi,  1837.     By  peiinission  of  Lt.-Col.  E.  W. 
Blunt-.Mackenzie,  U.A.). 

Frontispiece. 


ANNALS    AND   ANTIQUITIES 

OF 

RAJASTHAN 

OR  THE  CENTRAL  AND  WESTERN 
RAJPUT  STATES  OF  INDIA 


BY 

LiEUT.-CoL.  JAMES  rpD 

LATE   POLITICAL   AGENT  TO   THE   WESTERN   RAJPUT  STATES 


EDITED  WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  AND   NOTES  BY 

WILLIAM  CROOKE,  CLE. 

HON.   D.SC.   OXON.,   B.A.,   F.R.A.l. 

LATE   OF   THE   INDIAN   CIVIL   SERVICE 


IN  THREE  VOLUMES 
VOL.  I 


HUMPHREY    MILFORD 
OXFORD   UNIVERSITY   PRESS 

LONDON      EDINBURGH      GLASGOW      NEW  YORK 

TORONTO     MELBOURNE     BOMBAY 

1920 


[Oriyinat  Dedication  of  the  First  Volume.^ 


TO 
HIS  MOST  GRACIOUS  MAJESTY 

GEORGE   THE   FOURTH 

Sire, 

The  gracious  permission  accorded  me,  to  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  Throne 
the  fruit  of  my  lahours,  allows  me  to  propitiate  Your  Majesty's  con- 
sideration towards  the  object  of  this  work,  the  prosecution  of  wliich  1 
have  made  a  paramount  duty. 

The  Rajput  princes,  happily  rescued,  by  the  triumph  of  the  British 
arms,  from  the  yoke  of  lawless  oppression,  are  now  the  most  remote 
tributaries  to  Your  Majesty's  extensive  empire  ;  and  their  admirer  and 
annalist  may,  perhaps,  be  permitted  to  hope  that  the  sighs  of  this 
ancient  and  interesting  race  for  the  restoration  of  their  former  independ- 
ence, whicli  it  would  suit  our  wisest  policy  to  grant,  may  be  deemed  not 
undeserving  Your  Majesty's  regard. 

With  entire  loyalty  and  devotion,  I  subscribe  myself. 

Your  Majesty's 

Most  faithful  subject  and  servant, 

JAMES  TOD. 

Bird  Hurst,  Croydox, 
June  20,  1829. 


[Original  Dedication  of  the  Second  Volume.  ] 

TO 
HIS  MOST  GRACIOUS  MAJESTY 

WILLIAM   THE   FOURTH 

Sire, 

Your  Majesty  has  graciously  sanctioned  the  presentation  of  the 
Second  Volume  of  the  Annah-  of  Rajputana  to  the  Public  under  the 
auspices  of  Your  Majesty's  name. 

In  completing  this  work,  it  has  been  my  endeavour  to  draw  a  faithful 
picture  of  States,  the  ruling  principle  of  which  is  the  paternity  of  the 
Sovereign.  That  this  patriarchal  form  is  the  best  suited  to  the  genius 
of  the  people  may  be  presumed  from  its  durability,  which  war,  famine, 
and  anarchy  have  failed  to  destroy.  The  throne  has  always  been  the 
watchword  and  rallying-point  of  the  Rajputs.  My  prayer  is,  that  it 
may  continue  so,  and  that  neither  the  love  of  conquest,  nor  false  views 
of  policy,  may  tempt  us  to  subvert  the  independence  of  these  States, 
some  of  which  have  braved  the  storms  of  more  than  ten  centuries. 

It  will  not,  I  trust,  be  deemed  presumptuous  in  the  Annalist  of  these 
gallant  and  long-oppressed  races  thus  to  solicit  for  them  a  full  measure 
of  Your  Majesty's  gracious  patronage ;  in  return  for  which,  the  Rajputs, 
making  Your  Majesty's  enemies  their  own,  would  glory  in  assuming  the 
"  saifron  robe,"  emblematic  of  death  or  victory,  under  the  banner  of  that 
chivalry  of  which  Your  Majesty  is  the  head. 

That  Your  Majesty's  throne  may  ever  be  surrounded  by  chiefs  who 
will  act  up  to  the  principles  of  fealty  maintained  at  all  hazards  by  the 
Rajput,  is  the  heartfelt  aspiration  of. 

Sire, 

Your  Majesty's 

Devoted  subject  and  servant, 

JAMES  TOD. 


VOL.  I 


PKEFACE 

No  one  can  undertake  with  a  light  heart  the  preparation  of  a  new 
edition  of  Colonel  Tod's  great  work,  The  Annals  and  Antiquities 
of  Rajasthan.  But  the  leading  part  which  the  Rajputs  have  taken 
in  the  Great  War,  the  summoning  of  one  of  their  princes  to  a  seat 
at  the  Imperial  Conference,  the  certainty  that  as  the  result  of 
the  present  cataclysm  they  will  be  entitled  to  a  larger  share  in 
the  administration  of  India,  have  contributed  to  the  desire  that 
this  classical  account  of  their  history  and  sociology  should  be 
presented  in  a  shape  adapted  to  the  use  of  the  modern  scholar 
and  student  of  Indian  history  and  antiquities. 

In  the  Introduction  which  follows  I  have  endeavoured  to 
estimate  the  merits  and  defects  of  Colonel  Tod's  work.  Here  it 
is  necessary  only  to  state  that  though  the  book  has  been  several 
times  reprinted  in  India  and  once  in  this  country,  the  obvious 
difficulties  of  such  an  undertaking  have  hitherto  prevented  any 
writer  better  quahfled  than  myself  from  attempting  to  prepare 
an  annotated  edition.  Irrespectively  of  the  fact  that  this  work 
was  published  a  century  ago,  when  the  study  of  the  history, 
antiquities,  sociology,  and  geography  of  India  had  only  recently 
started,  the  Author's  method  led  him  to  formulate  theories  on  a 
wide  range  of  subjects  not  directly  connected  with  the  Rajputs. 
In  the  light  of  our  present  knowledge  some  of  these  speculations 
have  become  obsolete,  and  it  might  have  been  possible,  without 
impairing  the  value  of  the  work  as  a  Chronicle  of  the  Rajputs, 
to  have  discarded  from  the  text  and  notes  much  which  no  longer 
possesses  value.  But  the  work  is  a  classic,  and  it  deserves  to  be 
treated  as  such,  and  it  was  decided  that  any  mutilation  of  the 
original  text  and  notes  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  object  of 
this  series  of  reprints  of  classical  works  on  Indian  subjects.     The 


X  PREFACE 

only  alternative  course  was  to  correct  in  notes,  clearly  distinguished 
from  those  of  the  Author,  such  facts  and  theories  as  are  no  longer 
accepted  by  scholars. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  during  the  last  century  much  advance 
has  been  made  in  our  knowledge  of  Indian  history,  antiquities, 
philology,  and  sociology.  We  are  now  in  a  position  to  use  im- 
proved translations  of  many  authorities  which  were  quoted  by  the 
Author  from  inadequate  or  incorrect  versions.  The  translation 
of  FerishtcCs  History  by  A.  Dow  and  Jonathan  Scott  has  been 
superseded  by  that  of  General  J.  Briggs,  that  of  the  Ain-i-Akbari 
of  F.  Gladwin  by  the  version  by  Professor  H.  Blochmann  and 
Colonel  H.  S.  Jarrett.  For  the  Memoirs  of  Jahdnglr,  the  Author 
relied  on  the  imperfect  version  by  Major  David  Price,  which  has 
been  replaced  by  a  new  translation  of  the  text  in  its  more  complete 
form  by  Messrs.  A.  Rogers  and  H.  Beveridge.  For  the  Laws  of 
Mann  we  have  the  translation  by  Dr.  G.  Biihler.  The  passages 
in  classical  literature  relating  to  India  have  been  collected, 
translated,  and  annotated  by  the  late  Mr.  J.  W.  McCrindle. 
Much  information  not  available  for  the  Author's  use  has  been 
provided  by  The  History  of  India  as  told  by  its  own  Historians, 
by  Sir  H.  M.  Elliot  and  Professor  J.  Dowson,  and  by  Mr.  W. 
Irvine's  translation,  with  elaborate  notes,  of  N.  Manueei's  Storia 
do  Magor.  Among  original  works  useful  for  the  present  edition 
the  following  may  be  mentioned  :  J.  Grant  Duff's  History  of  the 
Mahrattas  ;  Dr.  Vincent  A.  Smith's  Early  History  of  India, 
History  of  Fine  Art  in  India  and  Ceylon,  Asoka,  the  Buddhist 
Emperor  of  India,  and  Akbar,  the  Great  Mogul ;  Professor 
Jadunath  Sarkar's  History  of  Aurangzib,  of  which  only  three 
volumes  have  been  published  ;  Mr.  W.  Irvine's  Army  of  the 
Indian  Moghuls  ;  Sir  W.  Lee- Warner's  Protected  Princes  of 
India. 

Much  historical,  geographical,  and  ethnological  information 
has  been  collected  in  the  new  edition  of  the  Imperial  Gazetteer  of 
India  the  Bombay  Gazetteer  edited  by  Sir  J.  M.  Campbell,  and, 
more  particularly,  in  the  revised  Gazetteer  of  Rajputana,  including 
that  of  Mewar  and  the  Western  States  Residency  and  BIkaner 
Agency  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  K.  D.  Erskine,  and  that  of  Ajmer 
by  Mr.  C.  C.  Watson.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Erskine's  work,  based 
on  the  best  local  information,  has  been  of  special  value,  and  it 
is  much  to  be  regretted  that  this  officer,  after  serving  as  Consul- 


PREFACE  xi 

General  at  Baghdad,  was  invalided  and  died  in  England  in  1914, 
leaving  that  part  of  the  Gazetteer  dealing  with  the  Eastern  States, 
Jaipur,  Kotah,  and  Bundi,  unrevised.  For  botany,  agriculture, 
and  natural  productions  I  have  used  Sir  G.  Watt's  Dictionary  of 
the  Economic  Products  of  India,  and  liis  Commercial  Products  of 
India  ;  for  architecture  and  antiquities,  J.  P'ergusson's  History 
of  Indian  and  Eastern  Architecture,  edited  by  Dr.  J.  Burgess,  and 
The  Cave  Temples  of  India  by  the  same  writers.  In  ethnology 
I  have  consulted  the  pubUcations  of  the  Etluiological  Survey  of 
India,  of  which  Mr.  H.  A.  Rose's  Glossary  of  the  Tribes  and  Cartes 
of  the  Punjab  and  North-West  Frontier  Province,  Mr.  Bhimbhai 
Kirparam's  account  of  the  Hindus  and  Ivhan  Bahadur  FazaluUah 
LutfuUah's  of  the  Musalmans  of  Gujarat,  published  in  the  Bombay 
Gazetteer,  vol.  ix.  Parts  i.  ii.,  have  been  specially  valuable.  Besides 
the  general  works  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  many  articles 
on  Rajputana  and  the  Rajputs  will  be  found  in  the  Journal  of 
the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  and  its  Bombay  branch,  in  the  Journal 
of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  and  in  the  Indian  Antiquary,  and 
other  periodicals.  The  Reports  of  the  Archaeological  Survey  of 
India  conducted  by  Sir  A.  Ciumingham,  Dr.  J.  Burgess,  and  Sir 
J.  H.  Marshall,  are  of  great  importance. 

I  cannot  pretend  to  have  exhausted  the  great  mass  of  new 
information  available  in  the  works  to  which  I  have  referred, 
and  in  others  named  in  the  Bibhography  ;  and  it  was  not  my 
object  to  overload  the  notes  which  are  already  voluminous. 
To  the  general  reader  the  system  of  armotation  which  I  have 
attempted  to  carry  out  may  appear  meticulous  ;  but  no  other 
course  seemed  possible  if  the  work  was  to  be  made  more  useful 
to  the  historian  and  to  the  scholar.  The  editor  of  a  work  of  tliis 
class  is  forced  to  undertake  the  somewhat  invidious  duty  of 
calUng  attention  to  oversights  or  errors  either  in  fact  or  theory. 
But  this  does  not  detract  from  the  real  value  of  the  work.  In 
some  cases  I  have  been  content  with  adding  a  note  of  interroga- 
tion to  warn  the  reader  that  certain  statements  must  be  received 
with  caution.  As  regards  geography,  I  have  in  many  cases 
indicated  briefly  the  position  of  the  more  important  places,  so 
far  as  they  can  be  traced  in  the  maps  with  which  I  was  provided. 
The  Author  was  so  intimately  acquainted  with  the  ground,  that 
he  assumed  in  the  general  reader  a  degree  of  knowledge  which 
he  does  not  possess. 


xii  PREFACE 

The  text  and  notes,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  obvious  over- 
sights, have  been  reprinted  as  they  stood  in  the  first  edition, 
and  as  tlie  latter  is  often  quoted  in  books  of  authority,  I  have 
added  its  pagination  for  facihty  of  reference.  It  was  decided, 
after  much  consideration,  to  correct  the  transHteration  of  personal 
and  place  names  and  other  vernacular  terms  according  to  the 
system  now  adopted  in  official  gazetteers,  maps,  and  reports. 
This  change  might  have  been  unnecessary  if  the  transliteration 
of  these  words,  according  to  the  system  in  use  at  the  time  when 
the  book  was  written,  had  been  uniformly  correct.  But  this  is 
not  the  case.  At  the  same  time  I  have  preserved  the  original 
readings  of  those  names  which  have  become  established  in  popular 
usage,  such  as  "  Mogul,"  "  Mahratta,"  "  Deccan,"  in  place  of 
"Mughal,"  "Marhata,"  "  Dakkhin."  Following  the  Author's 
example,  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  overload  the  text 
by  the  use  of  accents  and  diacritical  marks,  which  are  useless 
to  the  scholar  and  only  embarrass  the  general  reader.  But  in 
the  Index  I  have  accentuated  the  personal  and  place  names 
so  far  as  I  beheved  I  could  do  so  with  safety.  Some  of  these 
I  have  been  unable  to  trace  in  later  authorities,  and  I  fear 
that  I  may  have  failed  to  secure  complete  miiformity  of 
method. 

The  scheme  of  the  book,  which  attempts  to  give  parallel 
accounts  of  each  State,  naturally  causes  difficulty  to  the  reader. 
A  like  embarrassment  is  felt  by  any  historian  who  endeavours 
to  combine  in  a  single  narrative  the  fortvmes  of  the  Mughal 
Empire  with  those  of  the  kingdoms  in  Bengal,  the  Deccan,  or 
southern  India  ;  by  the  historian  of  Greece,  where  the  centre 
of  activity  sliifts  frona  Athens  to  Sparta,  Thebes,  or  Macedonia  ; 
by  the  historian  of  Giermany  before  the  minor  kingdoms  were 
more  or  less  fully  absorbed  by  the  HohenzoUerns.  I  have 
endeavoured  to  assist  the  reader  in  dealing  with  these  independent 
uimals  by  largely  extending  the  original  Index,  and  by  the  use 
of  page  headings  and  paragraph  summaries. 

In  the  dates  recorded  in  the  summaries  I  have  generally  followed 
LieuLenant-Colonel  Erskine's  guidance,  so  far  as  his  work  was 
available.  In  view  of  the  inconsistencies  between  some  dates 
in  the  text  and  those  recorded  in  the  sununaries,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  it  was  the  Author's  habit  in  adapting  the 
dates  of  the  Samvat  tu  those  of  the  Christian  era,  to  deduct  56, 


PREFACE  xiii 

not  57  from  the  former,   contrary  to  the  practice  of  modern 
historians. 

I  am  indebted  to  many  friends  for  assistance.  Captain  C.  D'. 
M'K.  Blunt  has  kindly  given  me  much  help  in  the  record  of 
Colonel  Tod's  life,  and  has  suppUed  a  photograph  of  the  charming 
miniature  of  the  Author  as  a  young  officer  and  of  a  bust  which 
have  been  reproduced  in  the  frontispieces.  Mr.  R.  E.  Enthoven, 
C.I.E.,  has  given  me  the  photograph  of  the  Author  engaged  in 
his  studies  with  his  Jain  Guru.^  The  fragments  of  local  ballads 
scattered  through  the  text  were  unfortunately  copied  from  very 
incorrect  texts.  Dr.  L.  P.  Tessitori,  an  Itahan  scholar,  who, 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  War,  was  engaged  in  collecting  the 
local  ballads  of  the  Rajputs,  has  given  a  correct  version  of  these 
ballads  ;  and  in  improving  the  text  of  them  I  have  been  assisted 
by  Colonel  C.  E.  Luard,  his  Pandit,  and  Sir  G.  Grierson,  K.C.I.E. 
Since  the  greater  part  of  the  following  pages  was  in  type,  I  have 
received  copies  of  three  reports  by  Dr.  L.  P.  Tessitori,  "  A  Scheme 
for  the  Bardic  and  Historical  Survey  of  Rajputana,"  and  two 
Progress  Reports  for  the  years  1915  and  1916,  pubUshed  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal  (New  Series,  vol.  x. 
No.  10  ;  xii.  No.  3  ;  xiii.  No.  4).  These  contain  information 
regarding  the  MSS.  copies  of  some  ballads  and  inscriptions, 
which  throw  Ught  on  the  traditions  and  antiquities  of  the  Rajputs. 
I  regret  that  I  was  imable  to  use  these  papers,  which,  however, 
do  not  supply  much  information  on  questions  connected  with 
The  Annals.  Among  other  friends  who  have  helped  me  in 
various  ways  I  may  name  the  late  Sir  G.  Birdwood;  Mr.  W. 
Foster,  CLE. ;  Professor  A.  Keith,  F.R.S. ;  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Sir  D.  Prain,  F.R.S. ;  and  Dr.  Vincent  A.  Smith,  CLE. 

W.  CROOKE. 

1  This  picture,  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  Ghasi,  the  Author's  artist,  was 
recently  discovered  in  Rajputana, 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface  by  the  Editor  ......         ix 

Introduction  ry  the  Editor  .  .  .  .  .      xxv 

BiRLIOGRAPHY     ........       xlvii 

Author's  Introduction  ......         Iv 

BOOK   I 
GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  OR  RAJPUTANA 

BOOK    II 
HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

CHAPTER   1 

Genealogies  of  the  Rajput  princes — The  Puranas — Connexion  of 

the  Rajputs  with  tlie  Scytliic  tribes       .  .  .  .23 

CHAPTER   2 

Genealogies  continued — Fictions  in  the  Puranas — -Union  of  the 
regal  and  the  priestly  characters — Legends  of  the  Puranas 
confirmed  by  the  Greek  historians         .  .  .  .29 

CHAPTER   3 

Genealogies  continued — Comparisons  between  the  lists  of  Sir  W. 
Jones,  IMr.  Bentley,  Captain  Wiiford,  and  the  Author — 
Synchronisms  .  .  .  .  .  .  .39 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   4 

PAGE 

Foundations  of  States  and  Cities  by  the  different  tribes  .  .       45 


CHAPTER   5 

The  dynasties  wliich  succeeded  Rama  and  Krishna — The  Pandava 

family — Periods  of  tlie  different  dynasties       .  .  .55 


CHAPTER   6 

Genealogical  history  of  tlie  Rajput  tribes  subsequent  to  Vikrama- 
ditya — Foreign  races  wluch  entered  India — Analogies  be- 
tween the  Scythians,  the  Rajputs,  and  the  tribes  of  Scan- 
dinavia        ........        68 


CHAPTER   7 

Catalogue  of  the  Thirty-six  Royal  Races      .  .  .  .97 

CHAPTER  8 
Reflections  on  the  present  political  state  of  the  Rajput  tribes     .     145 

BOOK  III 

SKETCH  OF  A  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN 
RAJASTHAN 

CHAPTER  1 

Introduction — Existing  condition  of  Rajasthan — General  re- 
semblance between  the  ancient  systems  of  Asia  and  Europe 
— Noble  origin  of  the  Rajput  race — Rathors  of  Rlarwar — 
Kachhwahas  of  Amber — Sesodias  of  Mewar — Gradation  of 
ranks — Revenues  and  rights  of  the  Crown — Barar — Khar 
Lakar  ........     153 


CONTENTS  xvii 

CHAPTER   2 

PAGE 

Legislative  authority — Rozina — Military  service — Inefficiency  of 

this  form  of  government  ......     170 

CHAPTER  3 

Feudal  incidents — Duration  of  grants  ....     184 

CHAPTER  4 

Rakliwali — Servitude — Basai — Gola  and  Das — Private  feuds  and 

composition — Rajput  Pardhans  or  Premiers    •  .  .     203 

CHAPTER   5 

Adoption — Reflections  upon  the  subjects  treated   .  .  .     220 

Appendix  .....  .  .     228 

BOOK  IV 
ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

CHAPTER   1 

Origin  of  the  Guhilot  princes  of  Mewar — Authorities — Kanaksen 
the  founder  of  the  present  dynasty — His  descent  from  Rama 
— He  emigrates  to  Saurashtra — Valabhipura — Its  sack  and 
destruction  by  the  Huns  or  Parthians  ....      247 


CHAPTER   2 

Birth    of    Goha — He    acquires    Idar — Derivation    of   the    term 
"  Guhilot " — Birth  of  Bappa — Early  religion  of  the  Guhilots — 
Bappa's  liistory — Oghana  Panarwa — Bappa's  initiation  into 
the  worship  of  Siva — He  gains  possession  of  Chitor — Remark-       !> 
able  end  of  Bappa — Four  epochs  established,  from  the  second       i 
to  the  eleventh  century     .  .  .  .  .  . '  258 


xviii  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   3 

PAOE 

Alleged  Persian  extraction  of  the  Ranas  of  Mewar — Authorities 
for  it — Implied  descent  of  the  Ranas  from  a  Christian  princess 
of  Byzantium — Tlie  Author's  reflections  upon  tliese  points  .     271 


CHAPTER   4 

Intervening  sovereigns  between  Bappa  and  Samarsi — Bappa's 
descendants — Irruptions  of  the  Arabians  into  India — Cata- 
logue of  Hindu  princes  who  defended  Chitor  .  .     281 


CHAPTER  5 

Historical  facts  furnished  by  the  bard  Chand  —  Anangpal  — 
Prithiraj — Samarsi — Overthrow  of  the  Chauhan  monarch  by 
the  Tatars — Posterity  of  Samarsi — Rahap — Changes  in  the 
title  and  the  triSe  of  its  prince — Successors  of  Rahap  •     297 


CHAPTER   6 

Rana  Lakhamsi — Attack  on  Chitor  by  Alau-d-din — Treachery  of 
Ala — Ruse  of  the  Chitor  chiefs  to  recover  Bhimsi — Devotion 
of  the  Rana  and  his  sons — Sack  of  Chitor  by  the  Tatars — Its 
destruction — Rana  Ajaisi — Hamir — He  gains  possession  of 
Cliitor — Renown  and  prosperity  of  Mewar — lihetsi — Lakha      307 


CHAPTER  7 

Delicacy  of  the  Rajputs — The  occasion  of  changing  the  rule  of 
primogeniture  in  Mewar — Succession  of  the  infant  Mokalji, 
to  the  prejudice  of  Chonda,  the  rightful  heir — Disorders  in 
Mewar  through  the  usurpations  of  the  Rathors — Chonda 
expels  them  from  Chitor  and  takes  Mandor — Transactions 
between  Mewar  and  Marwar  —  Reign  of  Mokalji  —  His 
assassination  .......     322 


CHAPTER  8 

Succession  of  Kumbha — He  defeats  and  takes  prisoner  Mahmud 
of  Malwa — Splendour  of  Kumbha's  reign — Assassinated  by 
his  son — The  murderer  dethroned  by  Raemall — Mewar  in- 
vaded by  the  imperial  forces — RaemalFs  successes — Feuds 
of  the  family — Death  of  Raemall  ....     333 


CONTENTS  xix 


CHAPTER   9 

PAGE 

Accession  of  Rana  Sanga— State  of  the  Muhammadan  power — 
Grandeur  of  Mewar — Sanga's  victories — Invasions  of  India — 
Babur's  invasion — Defeats  and  kills  the  King  of  Dellii — 
Opposed  by  Sanga — Battle  of  Khanua — Defeat  of  Sanga — His 
death  and  character — Accession  of  Rana  Ratna — His  death 
— Rana  Bikramajit — His  character — Disgusts  his  nobles — 
Chitor  invested  by  the  King  of  Malwa — Storm  of  Chitor — - 
Sakha  or  immolation  of  the  females — Fall  and  plunder  of 
Chitor — Humayun  comes  to  its  aid — He  restores  Chitor  to 
Bikramajit,  who  is  deposed  by  the  nobles — Election  of 
Banbir — Bikramajit  assassinated  ....     348 


CHAPTER   10 

The  bastard  Banbir  rules  Mewar — Attempted  assassination  of  the 
posthumous  son  of  Sanga — ^Udai  Singh's  escape  and  long 
concealment — Acknowledged  as  Rana — The  Dauna  described 
— Udai  Singh  gains  Chitor — Deposal  of  Banbir — Origin  of 
the  Bhonslas  of  Nagpur — Rana  Udai  Singh — His  unworthi- 
ness — Humayun  expelled  the  throne  of  India — Birth  of  Akbar 
— Humayun  recovers  his  throne— His  death — Accession  of 
Akbar— Characters  of  Akbar  and  Udai  Singh  contrasted — 
Akbar  besieges  Chitor,  which  is  abandoned  by  the  Rana — Its 
defence — Jaimall  and  Patta — Anecdotes  of  Rajput  females 
— Sakha  or  Johar — General  assault — Chitor  taken — Massacre 
of  the  inliabitants — Udai  Singh  founds  the  new  capital 
Udaipur— His  death  .  .  .  .  .  .367 


CHAPTER   11 

Accession  of  Partap — The  Rajput  princes  unite  with  Akbar — 
Depressed  condition  of  Partap — He  prepares  for  war — 
Maldeo  submits  to  Akbar — Partap  denounces  connexion 
with  the  Rajput  princes — Raja  Man  of  Amber — Prince  Salim 
invades  Mewar — Battle  of  Haldighat — Partap  encounters 
Salim,  is  wounded,  and  saved  by  the  Jhala  chief — Assisted 
in  liis  flight  by  his  brother  Sakta — Kumbhalmer  taken  by 
Akbar — Udaipur  occupied  by  the  Moguls — Partap  cuts  off 
Farid  and  his  army — Partap's  family  saved  by  the  Bhils — 
The  Khankhanan^ — Aggravated  hardships  of  Partap — ^He 
negotiates  with  Akbar— Prithiraj  of  Bikaner — -The  Khushroz 
described — Partap  abandons  Mewar — Departure  for  the 
Indus — Fidelity  of  his  minister — Returns — Surprises  the 
Moguls — Regains  Kumbhalmer  and  Udaipur — His  successes 
— His  sickness  and  death  .....     385 


XX  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   12 

PAGE 

Amra  mounts  the  throne — Akbar's  death  through  an  attempt  to 

poison  Raja  Man — Amra  disregards  the  promise  given  to  his  > 
father — Conduct  of  the  Salumbar  chief — Amra  defeats  the 
Imperial  armies — Sagarji  installed  as  Rana  in  Chitor — Re- 
signs it  to  Amra — Fresh  successes — Origin  of  the  Saktawats 
'  — ^The  Emperor  sends  his  son  Parvez  against  the  Rana,  who 
is  defeated — Mahabat  Khan  defeated — Sultan  Khurram  in- 
vades Mewar — Amra's  despair  and  submission — Embassy 
from  England — Amra  abdicates  the  throne  to  his  son — 
Amra's  seclusion — His  death — Observations    .  •  .     407 


CHAPTER   13 

Rana  Karan  fortifies  and  embellishes  Udaipur — The  Ranas  of 
Mewar  excused  attendance  at  court — Bhim  commands  the 
contingent  of  Mewar — Leagues  with  Sultan  Khurram  against 
Parvez — Jahangir  attacks  the  insurgents — Bhim  slain — 
Kliurram  flies  t»  Udaipur — His  reception  by  the  Rana — 
Death  of  Karan — Rana  Jagat  Singh  succeeds — Death  of 
Jahangir  and  accession  of  Khurram  as  Shah  Jahan — Mewar 
enjoys  profound  peace — ^The  island  palaces  erected  by 
Jagat  Singh — Repairs  Chitor — His  death — Rana  Raj  Singh 
— ^Deposal  of  Shah  Jahan  and  accession  of  Aurangzeb — 
Causes  for  attachment  to  the  Hindus  of  Jahangir  and  Shah 
Jahan — Aurangzeb's  character  ;  imposes  the  Jizya  or 
capitation  tax  on  the  Rajputs — Raj  Singh  abducts  the  in- 
tended wife  of  the  emperor  and  prepares  for  war — Aurangzeb 
marches — The  valley  of  Girwa — Prince  Akbar  surprised — 
Defeated — Blockaded  in  the  mountains — Liberated  by  the 
heir  of  Mewar — Diler  Khan  defeated — Aurangzeb  defeated 
by  the  Rana  and  his  Rathor  allies — Aurangzeb  quits  the 
field — Prince  Bhim  invades  Gujarat — The  Rana's  minister 
ravages  Malwa — United  Rajputs  defeat  Azam  and  drive  him 
from  Chitor — Mewar  freed  from  the  Moguls — ^War  carried 
into  Marwar — Sesodias  and  Rathors  defeat  Sultan  Akbar — 
Rajput  stratagem — ^Design  to  depose  Aurangzeb  and  elevate 
Akbar  to  the  throne — Its  failure— The  Mogul  makes  over- 
tures to  the  Rana — Peace — ^Terms — The  Rana  dies  of  his 
wounds — His  character,  contrasted  with  that  of  Aurangzeb 
— Lake  Rajsamund — Dreadful  famine  and  pestilence  .     427 


CHAPTER   14 

Rana  Jai  Singh — Anecdote  regarding  him  and  his  twin  brother — 
The  Rana  and  Prince  Azam  confer — Peace — Rupture — The 
Rana  forms  the  Lake  Jaisamund — ^Domestic  broils — Amra, 
the  heir-apparent,  rebels — The  Rana  dies — Accession  of  Amra 
— His  treaty  with  the  heir  of  Aurangzeb — Reflections  on  the 


CONTENTS  XX 

PAGE 

events  of  tliis  period — Imposition  of  the  Jizya  or  capitation 
tax — Alienation  of  the  Rajputs  from  the  empire — Causes — 
Aurangzeb's  death — Contests  for  empire — Bahadur  Shah, 
emperor  —  The  Sikhs  declare  for  independence  —  Triple 
alliance  of  the  Rajput  States  of  Mewar,  Marwar,  and  Amber 
— They  commence  hostilities — Death  of  the  JMogul  Bahadur 
Shah — Elevation  of  Farrukhsiyar — He  marries  the  daughter 
of  the  Prince  of  Marwar — Origin  of  the  British  power  in  India 
— The  Rana  treats  with  the  emperor — The  Jats  declare  their 
independence — Rana  Amra  dies — His  character        .  .     45G 


CHAPTER   15 

Rana  Sangram  —  Dismemberment  of  the  Mogul  Empire  — 
Nizamu-1  Mulk  establishes  the  Haidarabad  State — Murder 
of  the  Emjieror  Farrukhsiyar — Abrogation  of  the  Jizya-*— 
Muhammad.  Shah,  Emperor  of  Delhi- — Saadat  KJian  obtains 
Oudh — Repeal  of  the  Jizya  confirmed — Policy  of  Mewar — 
Rana  Sangram  dies — Anecdotes  regarding  him — Rana 
Jagat  Singh  II.  succeeds — Treaty  of  triple  alliance  with 
Marwar  and  Amber — The  Mahrattas  invade  and  gain  footing 
in  Malwa  and  Gujarat — Invasion  of  Nadir  Sliah — Sack  of 
Delhi — Condition  of  Rajputana — Limits  of  Mewar — Rajput 
alliances — Bajirao  invades  Mewar — Obtains  a  cession  of 
annual  tribute — Contest  to  place  Madho  Singh  on  the  throne 
of  Amber — Battle  of  Rajmahall — The  Rana  defeated — He 
leagues  wth  Malharrao  Holkar — Isari  Singh  of  Amber  takes 
poison — The  Rana  dies — His  character  .  .  .472 


CHAPTER   16 

Rana  Partap  II. — Rana  Raj  Singh  II. — Rana  Arsi — Holkar  in- 
vades Mewar,  and  levies  contributions — Rebellion  to  depose 
the  Rana — A  Pretender  set  up  by  the  rebel  chiefs — Zalim 
Singh  of  Kotah — ^The  Pretender  unites  vnth  Sindhia — ^Their 
combined  force  attacked  by  the  Rana,  who  is  defeated — 
Sindhia  invades  Mewar  and  besieges  Udaipur — Amra  Chand 
made  minister  by  the  Rana — His  noble  conduct — ^Negotiates 
with  Sindhia,  who  withdraws — Loss  of  territory  to  Mewar — 
Rebel  chiefs  return  to  their  allegiance — Province  of  Godwar 
lost — Assassination  of  the  Rana — Rana  Hamir  succeeds — 
Contentions  between  the  Queen  Regent  and  Amra — His 
noble  conduct,  death,  and  character — Diminution  of  the 
Mewar  territory      .  .  ,  .  .  .  .496 


CHAPTER   17 

Rana  Bliim — Feud  of  Sheogarh — The  Rana  redeems  the  alien- 
ated lands — Ahalya  Bai  attacks  the  Rana's  army — Which 
is  defeated  —  Chondawat   rebellion  —  Assassination    of  the 


i  CONTENTS 

PAciE 

Minister  Soniji— The  rebels  seize  on  Chitor — Mahadaji  Sindhia 
called  in  by  the  Rana — Invests  Chitor — The  rebels  surrender 
— Designs  of  Zalim  Singh  for  power  in  Mewar — Counter- 
acted by  Ambaji,  who  assumes  the  title  of  Subahdar,  con- 
tested by  Lakwa — Effects  of  these  struggles — Zalim  obtains 
Jahazpur — Holkar  invades  Mewar — Confines  the  priests  of 
Nathdwara — Heroic  conduct  of  the  Chief  of  Kotharia — 
Lakwa  dies — The  Rana  seizes  the  Mahratta  leaders — 
Liberated  by  Zalim  Singh — Holkar  returns  to  Udaipur — 
Imposes  a  heavy  contribution^Sindhia's  invasion — Re- 
flections on  their  contest  with  the  British — Ambaji  projects 
the  partition  of  Mewar — Frustrated — Rivalry  for  Krishna 
Kunwari,  the  Princess  of  Mewar,  produces  war  throughout 
Rajasthan — Immolation  of  Krishna — Amir  Khan  and  Ajit 
Singh — Their  villainy — British  Embassy  to  Sindhia's  Court 
at  Udaipur — Ambaji  is  disgraced,  and  attempts  suicide — 
Airur  Khan  and  Bapu  Sindhia  desolate  Mewar — The  Rana 
forms  a  treaty  with  the  British  .  .  .  .  .511 


CHAPTER   18 

Overthrow  of  the  predatory  system — Alliances  with  the  Rajput 
States — Envoy  appointed  to  Mev/ar — Arrives  at  Udaipur — 
Reception — Description  of  the  Court^ — ^Political  geography 
of  Mewar — The  Rana — His  character — His  ministers — Plans 
— Exiles  recalled — Merchants  invited — Bhilwara  established 
— Assembly  of  the  nobles — Charter  ratified  ;  Resumptions  of 
land  ;  Anecdotes  of  the  Chiefs  of  Arja,  Badnor,  Badesar, 
and  Amet — Landed  tenures  in  Mewar — Village  rule — Free- 
hold {bupota)  of  Mewar — Bhumia,  or  allodial  vassals  :  Char- 
acter and  privileges— Great  Register  of  Patents— Traditions 
exemplifying  right  in  the  soil — The  Patel  ;  his  origin  ; 
character — Assessment  of  land-rents — General  results  .     547 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Bust  of  Colonel  James  Tod 
Section  of  Country 

Fror 

TO    F 

itispiece 

ACE    PAGE 

10 

List  of  Thirty-six  Royal  Races 

98 

Salumbar  . 

216 

Sanskrit  Grant 

232 

Palace  of  Udaipur 

247 

Palace  of  Rana  Blilm 

312 

Ruins  of  Fortress  of  Bayana 

362 

Chitor 

382 

Rajmahall 

428 

Jagmandir 

432 

Maharaja  BliTin  Singli 

512 

Facsimile  of  Native  Drawing 

572 

VOL.  1 


INTRODUCTION 

James  Tod,  the  Author  of  this  work,  son  of  James  Tod  and  Mary 
Heatly,  was  born  at  Islington  on  March  20,  1782.  His  father, 
James  Tod  the  first,  eldest  son  of  Henry  Tod  of  Bo'ness  and  Janet 
Monteath,  was  born  on  October  26,  1745.  In  1780  he  married 
in  New  York  Mary,  daughter  of  Andrew  Heatly,  a  member 
of  a  family  originally  settled  at  Mellerston,  Co.  Berwick,  where 
they  had  held  a  landed  estate  for  some  four  centuries.  Andrew 
Heatly  emigrated  to  Rhode  Island,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six  in  1761.  He  had  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Sueton 
Grant,  of  the  family  of  Gartinbeg,  really  of  Balvaddon,  who  left 
Inverness  for  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  1725,  and  Temperance 
Talmage  or  Tollemache,  granddaughter  of  one  of  the  first  and 
principal  settlers  at  Easthampton,  Rhode  Island.  He  had  been 
forced  to  emigrate  to  America  during  the  Protectorate,  owing  to 
his  loyalty  to  King  Charles  I.  James  Tod,  the  first,  left  America, 
and  in  partnership  with  his  brother  John,  became  an  indigo- 
planter  at  Mirzapur,  in  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh. 
.Tames  Tod,  the  second,  was  thus  through  his  father  and  his 
uncles  Patrick  and  S.  Heatly,  both  members  of  the  Civil  Service 
of  the  East  India  Company,  closely  connected  with  India,  and  in 
1798,  being  then  sixteen  years  old,  he  obtained  through  the 
influence  of  his  imcle,  Patrick  Heatly,  a  cadetship  in  the  service 
of  the  East  India  Company.  On  his  arrival  at  Calcutta  he  was 
attached  to  the  2nd  European  Regiment.  -In  1800  he  was  trans- 
ferred, with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant,  to  the  14th  Native  Infantry, 
from  which  he  passed  in  1807,  with  the  same  rank,  to  the  25th 
Native  Infantry.  In  1805  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  escort  of  his  friend  Mr.  Graeme  Mercer,  then  Government 
Agent  at  the  Camp'of  Daulat  Rao  Sindhia,  who  had  been  defeated 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

two  years  before  at  the  battle  of  Assaye  by  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley. 
In  more  than  one  passage  in  The  Annals  Tod  speaks  of  Mr. 
Graeme  Mercer  with  respect  and  affection,  and  by  him  he  was 
introduced  to  official  life  and  Rajput  and  Mahratta  politics.  His 
tastes  for  geographical  inquiries  led  liim  to  undertake  surveys  in 
Rajputana  and  Central  India  between  1812  and  1817,  and  he 
employed  several  native  surveyors  to  traverse  the  then  little - 
known  region  between  Central  India  and  the  valley  of  the  Indus. 

At  this  period  the  Government  of  India  was  engaged  in  a 
project  for  suppressing  the  Pindaris,  a  body  of  lawless  free- 
booters, of  no  single  race,  the  debris  of  the  adventurers  who 
gained  power  during  the  decay  of  the  Mughal  Empire,  and  who 
had  not  been  incorporated  in  the  armies  of  the  local  powers 
which  rose  from  its  ruins.  In  1817,  to  effect  their  suppression, 
the  Governor-General,  the  Marquess  of  Hastings,  collected  the 
strongest  British  force  which  up  to  that  time  had  been  assembled 
in  India.  Two  armies,  acting  in  co-operation  from  north  and 
south,  converged  on  the  banditti,  and  met  with  rapid  success. 
Sindhia,  whose  power  depended  on  the  demoralized  condition  of 
Rajputana,  was  overawed  ;  Holkar  was  defeated  ;  the  Raja  of 
Nagpur  was  captured  ;  the  Mahratta  Peshwa  became  a  fugitive  ; 
the  Pindaris  were  dispersed.  One  of  their  leaders,  Amir  Khan, 
who  is  frequently  mentioned  in  Tod's  narrative,  disbanded  his 
forces,  and  received  as  his  share  of  the  spoils  the  Principality  of 
Tonk,  still  ruled  by  his  descendants. 

In  the  course  of  this  campaign  Tod  performed  valuable 
services.  At  the  beginning  of  the  operations  he  supplied  the 
British  Staff  with  a  rough  map  of  the  seat  of  war,  and  in  other 
ways  his  local  knowledge  was  utilized  by  the  Generals  in  cha;-ge 
of  the  operations.  In  1813  he  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Cajitain  in  command  of  the  escort  of  the  Resident,  Mr.  Richard 
Strachey,  who  nominated  him  to  the  post  of  his  Second  Assistant. 
In  1818  he  was  appointed  Political  Agent  of  Western  Rajputana, 
a  post  which  he  held  till  his  retirement  in  June  1822.  The  work 
which  he  carried  out  in  Rajputana  during  this  period  is  fully 
described  in  The  Annals  and  in  his  "  Personal  Narrative."  Owing 
to  Mahratta  oppression  and  the  ravages  of  the  Pindaris,  the 
condition  of  the  country,  political,  social,  and  economical,  was 
deplorable.  To  remedy  this  prevailing  anarchy  the  States  were 
gradually  brought  under  British  control,  and  their  relations  with 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii 

the  paramount  power  were  embodied  in  a  series  of  treaties.  In 
this  work  of  reform,  reconstruction,  and  conciliation,  Tod  played 
an  active  part,  and  the  confidence  and  respect  with  which  he  was 
regarded  by  the  Princes,  Chiefs,  and  peasantry  enabled  him  to 
interfere  with  good  effect  in  tribal  quarrels,  to  rearrange  the  fiefs 
of  the  minor  Chiefs,  and  to  act  as  arbitrator  between  the  Rana 
of  Me  war  and  his  subjects. 

Tod  was  convinced  that  the  miserable  state  of  the  country 
was  chiefly  due  to  the  hesitation  of  the  Indian  Government  in 
interfering  for  the  re-establishment  of  order  ;  and  on  this  ground 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  condemn  the  cautious  policy  of  Lord 
Cornwallis  during  his  second  term  of  office  as  Governor- General. 
Few  people  at  the  present  day  would  be  disposed  to  defend  the 
policy  of  non-intervention.  "  This  policy  has  been  condemned 
by  historians  and  commentators,  as  well  as  by  statesmen, 
soldiers,  and  diplomatists  ;  by  Mill  and  his  editor,  H.  H.  Wilson, 
and  by  Thornton  ;  by  Lord  Lake  and  Sir  John  Malcolm.  The 
mischief  was  done  and  the  loss  of  influence  was  not  regained  for 
a  decade.  It  was  not  till  the  conclusion  of  an  expensive  and  pro- 
tracted campaign,  that  the  Indian  Government  was  replaced  in 
the  position  where  it  had  been  left  by  Wellesley.  The  blame  for 
tliis  weak  and  unfortmiate  policy  must  be  divided  between  Corn- 
wallis and  Barlow,  between  the  Court  of  Directors  and  the  Board 
of  Control."  But  it  was  carried  out  in  pursuance  of  orders  from 
the  Home  Government.  "  The  Court  of  Directors  for  some  time 
past  had  been  alarmed  at  Lord  Wellesley's  vigorous  foreign 
policy.  Castlereagh  at  the  Board  of  Control  had  taken  fright, 
and  even  Pitt  v/as  carried  away  and  committed  himself  to  a  hasty 
oi^inion  that  the  Governor -General  had  acted  imprudently  and 
illegally."  ^ 

Tod  tells  us  little  of  his  relations  with  the  Supreme  Government 
during  his  four  years'  service  as  Political  Agent.  He  was  notori- 
ously a  partisan  of  the  Rajput  princes,  iDarticularly  those  of  Mewar 
and  Marwar  ;  he  is  never  tired  of  abusing  the  policy  of  the 
Emperor  Aurangzeb,  and,  fortunately  for  the  success  of  his  work, 
Muhammadans  form  only  a  shght  minority  in  the  population  of 
Rajputana.  Tliis  attitude  naturally  exposed  him  to  criticism. 
Writing  in  1824,  Bishop  Heber,^  while  he  recognizes  that  he  was 

1  W.  S.  Seton  Carr,  The  Marquess  Cornwallis,  180,  189  f. 
2  Narrative  of  a  Journey  through  the  Upper  Provinces,  ed.  1861,  ii.  54- 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION 

held  in  affection  and  respect  by  "all  the  upper  and  middhng 
classes  of  society,"  goes  on  to  say  :  "  His  misfortiine  was  that, 
in  consequence  of  his  favouring  the  native  princes  so  much,  the 
Government  of  Calcutta  were  led  to  suspect  him  of  corruption, 
and  consequently  to  narrow  his  powers  and  associate  other  officers 
with  him  in  his  trust  till  he  was  disgusted  and  resigned  his  place. 
They  are  now,  I  beheve,  well  satisfied  that  their  suspicions  were 
groundless.  Captain  Todd  {sic)  is  strenuously  vindicated  from 
the  charge  by  all  the  officers  with  whom  I  have  conversed,  and 
some  of  whom  had  abundant  means  of  knowing  what  the  natives 
themselves  thought  of  him."  The  Bishop's  widow,  in  a  later 
issue  of  the  Diary  of  her  husband,  adds  that  "  she  is  anxious  to 
remove  any  unfavourable  impressions  which  may  exist  on  the 
subject  by  stating,  that  she  has  now  the  authority  of  a  gentleman, 
who  at  the  time  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Covmcil,  to  say, 
that  no  such  imputation  was  ever  fixed  on  Colonel  Todd's  (sic) 
character." 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  real  reason  for  the  premature 
termination  of  liis  official  career  at  the  age  of  forty,  iU-health 
was  put  forward  as  the  ostensible  cause  of  his  retirement.  He 
had  served  for  about  twenty-four  years  in  the  Indian  plains 
without  any  leave  ;  he  had  long  suffered  from  malaria  ;  and, 
though  he  hardly  suspected  it  at  the  time,  an  attempt  had  been 
made  by  one  of  his  servants  to  poison  him  with  Datura  ;  he 
had  met  with  a  serious  accident  when,  by  chance  or  design,  his 
elephant-driver  dashed  his  howdah  against  the  gate  of  Begun 
fort  in  eastern  Mewar.  In  spite  of  all  this,  he  retained  sufficient 
health  to  make,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  from  India,  the 
extensive  tour  recorded  in  his  Travels  in  Western  India.  Neither 
on  his  retirement,  nor  at  any  subsequent  period,  were  liis  services, 
official  and  hterary,  rewarded  by  any  distinction. 

During  his  seventeen  years'  service  in  Central  India  and 
Kajputana  he  showed  indefatigable  industry  in  the  collection 
of  the  materials  which  were  partially  used  in  liis  great  work. 
His  taste  for  the  study  of  liistory  and  antiquities,  etluiology, 
popular  religion,  and  superstitions  was  stimulated  by  the  pioneer 
work  of  Sir  W.  Jones  and  other  writers  in  the  Asiatic  Researches. 
He  was  not  a  trained  philologist,  and  he  gained  much  of  liis 
information  from  liis  Guru,  the  Jain  Yati  Gyanchandra,  and  the 
Brahman  Pandits  whom  he  employed  to  make  inquiries  on  his 


INTRODUCTION  xxix 

behalf.  They,  too,  were  not  trained  scholars  in  the  modern 
sense  of  the  term,  and  many  of  his  mistakes  are  due  to  his  rash- 
ness in  following  their  guidance. 

His  hfe  was  prolonged  for  tliirteen  years  after  he  left  India. 
In  1824,  he  attained  the  rank  of  Major,  and  in  1826  that  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel. Much  of  his  time  in  England  was  spent  in 
arranging  liis  materials  and  compiling  the  works  upon  which  his 
reputation  depends  :  The  Annals,  pubhshed.  between  1829  and 
1832  ;  and  his  Travels  in  Western  India,  published  after  his 
death,  in  1839.  He  was  in  close  relations  with  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,  of  wliich  he  acted  for  a  time  as  Librarian.  In  this  fine 
collection  of  books  and  manuscripts  he  gained  much  of  that 
discursive  learning  which  appears  in'  The  Annals.  He  presented 
to  the  Society  niunerous  manuscripts,  inscriptions,  and  coins. 
The  fine  series  of  drawings  made  to  illustrate  his  works  by  Captain 
P.  T.  Waugh  and  a  native  artist  named  Ghasi,  have  recently 
been  rearranged  and  catalogued  in  the  Library  of  the  Society. 
They  well  deserve  inspection  by  any  one  interested  in  Indian  art. 
He  also  made  frequent  tours  on  the  Continent,  and  on  one  occasion 
visited  the  great  soldier,  Comit  Benoit  de  Boigne,  who  died  in 
1830,  leaving  a  fortune  of  twenty  millions  of  francs. 

On  November  16,  1826,  Tod  married  Juha,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Henry  Clutterbuck,  an  eminent  London  surgeon,  by  whom  he 
had  two  sons  and  a  daughter.  In  1835  he  settled  in  a  house  in 
Regent's  Park,  and  on  November  17  of  the  same  year  he  died 
suddenly  wliile  transacting  business  at  the  office  of  his  bankers, 
Messrs.  Robarts  of  Lombard  Street.  The  names  of  his  descend- 
ants will  appear  from  the  pedigree  appended  to  this  Introduction. 

The  Annals  of  Rajasthan,  the  two  volumes  of  which  were, 
by  permission,  dedicated  to  Kings  George  IV.  and  WiUiam  IV. 
respectively,  was  received  with  considerable  favour.  A  con- 
temporary critic  deals  with  it  in  the  following  terms  :  ^  "  Colonel 
Tod  deserves  the  praise  of  a  most  delightful  and  industrious 
collector  of  materials  for  history,  and  his  own  narrative  style  in 
many  places  displays  great  freedom,  vigour,  and  perspicuity. 
Though  not  always  correct,  and  occasionally  stiff  and  formal,  it 
is  not  seldom  highly  animated  and  picturesque.  The  faults  of 
his  work  are  inseparable  from  its  nature  ;  it  would  have  been 
almost  impossible  to  mould  up  into  one  continuous  history  the 
^  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  xlviii.  Oct.-Dec.  1832,  pp.  38  f. 


X5£X  INTRODUCTION 

distinct  and  separate  annals  of  the  various  Rajput  races.  The 
patience  of  the  reader  is  thus  imavoidably  put  to  a  severe  trial, 
in  having  to  reascend  to  the  origin,  and  again  to  trace  downwards 
the  parallel  annals  of  some  new  tribe — sometimes  interwoven 
Avith,  sometimes  entirely  distinct  from,  those  which  have  gone 
before.  But,  on  the  whole,  as  no  one  but  Colonel  Tod  could  have 
gathered  the  materials  for  such  a  work,  there  are  not  many  who 
could  have  used  them  so  well.  No  candid  reader  can  arise  from 
its  perusal  without  a  very  high  sense  of  the  character  of  the  Author 
— no  scholar,  more  certainly,  without  respect  for  his  attainments, 
and  gratitude  for  the  service  which  he  has  rendered  to  a  branch 
of  literature,  if  far  from  popular,  by  no  means  to  be  estimated,  as 
to  its  real  importance,  by  the  extent  to  which  it  may  command 
the  favour  of  an  age  of  duodecimos." 

In  estimating  the  value  of  the  local  authorities  on  which  the 
liistory  is  based.  Tod  reposed  undue  confidence  in  the  epics  and 
ballads  composed  by  the  poet  Chand  and  other  tribal  bards.  It 
is  believed  that  more  than  one  of  these  poems  have  disappeared 
since  his  time,  and  these  materials  have  been  only  in  part  edited 
and  translated.  The  value  to  be  placed  on  bardic  literature  is  a 
question  not  free  from  difficulty.  "  On  the  faith  of  ancient  songs, 
the  uncertain  but  the  only  memorials  of  barbarism,"  says  Gibbon, 
"  they  [Cassiodorus  and  Jornandes]  deduced  the  first  origin  of  the 
Goths."  ^  The  poet  may  occasionally  record  facts  of  value,  but 
in  his  zeal  for  the  honour  of  the  tribe  which  he  represents,  he  is 
tempted  to  exaggerate  victories,  to  minimize  defeats.  This  is  a 
danger  to  which  Indian  poets  are  particularly  exposed.  Their 
trade  is  one  of  fulsome  adulation,  and  in  a  state  of  society  like 
that  of  the  Rajputs,  where  tribal  and  personal  rivalries  flourish, 
the  temptation  to  give  a  false  colouring  to  history  is  great.  In 
fact,  bardic  literature  is  often  useful,  not  as  evidence  of  occurrences 
in  antiquity,  but  as  an  indication  of  the  habits  and  beliefs  current 
in  the  age  of  the  writer.  It  exhibits  the  facts,  not  as  they  really 
occurred,  but  as  the  writer  and  lais  contemporaries  supposed  that 
they  occurred.  The  mind  of  the  poet,  with  all  its  prejudices, 
projects  itself  into  the  distant  past.  Good  examples  of  the 
methods  of  the  bards  will  appear  in  the  attempt  to  connect  the 
Rathors  with  the  dynasty  of  Kanauj,  or  to  represent  the  Chauhans 
as  the  founders  of  an  empire  in  the  Deccan. 

^  Decline  and  Fall,  ed.  W.  Smith,  i.  375. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxi 

Recent  investigation  has  thrown  much  new  hght  on  the  origin 
of  the  Rajputs.  A  wide  gulf  hes  between  the  Vedic  Kshatriya 
and  the  Rajput  of  medieval  times  which  it  is  now  impossible  to 
bridge.  Some  clans,  with  the  help  of  an  accommodating  bard, 
may  be  able  to  trace  their  lineage  to  the  Kshatriyas  of  Buddhist 
times,  who  v.ere  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  elements  in 
Hindu  society,  and,  in  their  own  estimation,  stood  even  higher 
tlxan  the  Brahmans.^  But  it  is  now  certain  that  the  origin  of 
many  clans  dates  from  the  Saka  or  Kushan  invasion,  which  began 
about  the  middle  of  the  second  century  B.C.,  or  more  certainly, 
from  that  of  the  ^Vl^lite  Huns  who  destroyed  the  Gupta  empire 
about  A.D.  480.  The  Gurjara  tribe  connected  with  the  latter 
people  adopted  Hinduism,  and  their  leaders  formed  the  main 
stock  from  which  the  higher  Rajput  families  sprang.  When 
these  new  claimants  to  princely  honours  accepted  the  faith  and 
institutions  of  Brahmanism,  the  attempt  would  naturally  be  made 
to  ainiiate  themselves  to  the  mythical  heroes  whose  exploits  are 
recorded  in  the  Mahabharata  and  Ramayana.  Hence  arose  the 
body  of  legend  recorded  in  The  Annals  by  wliich  a  fabulous 
origin  from  the  Sun  or  Moon  is  ascribed  to  two  great  Rajput 
branches,  a  genealogy  claimed  by  other  princely  families,  like 
the  Incas  of  Peru  or  the  Mikado  of  Japan.  Or,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Rathors  of  Marwar,  an  equally  fabulous  story  was  invented 
to  link  them  with  the  royal  house  of  Kanauj,  one  of  the  genuine 
old  Hindu  ruling  families.  The  same  feeling  lies  at  the  root  of 
the  Aeneid  of  Virgil,  the  court  poet  of  the  new  empire.  The  clan 
of  the  emperor  Augustus,  the  lulii,  a  jiatrician  family  of  Alban 
origin,  was  represented  as  the  heirs  of  lulus,  the  supposed  sou  of 
Aeneas  and  founder  of  Alba  Longa,  thus  linking  the  new  Augustan 
house  with  the  heroes  of  the  Iliad. 

One  of  the  merits  of  Tod's  work  is  that,  though  his  knowledge  of 
ethnology  was  imperfect,  and  he  was  unable  to  reject  the  local 
chronicles  of  the  Rajputs,  he  advocated,  in  anticipation  of  the 
conclusions  of  later  scholars,  the  so-called  "  Scythic  "  origin  of 
the  race.  To  make  up  for  the  lack  of  direct  evidence  of  Scythian 
manners  and  sociology  to  support  this  position,  he  was  forced 
to  rely  on  certain  superficial  resemblances  of  custom  and  belief, 
not  between  Rajputs,  Scythians  and  Hims,  but  between  Rajputs, 

1  V.  A.  Smith,  Early  History  of  India,  3rd  ed.  408 ;  Rhys  Davids,  Buddhist 
India,  60  f. 


xxxii  INTRODUCTION 

Getae  or  Thracians,  or  the  Germans  of  Tacitus.  In  the  same  way 
a  supposed  identity  of  name  led  him  to  identify  the  Jats  of 
northern  India  with  the  Getae  or  with  the  Goths,  and  finally  to 
bring  them  with  the  Jutes  into  Kent. 

A  similar  process  of  groping  in  semi-darkness  induced  him  to 
make  constant  references  to  serpent  worship,  which,  as  Sir  E. 
Tylor  remarked,  "  years  ago  fell  into  the  hands  of  speculative 
writers  who  mixed  it  up  with  occult  philosophies,  druidical 
mysteries,  and  that  portentous  nonsense  called  the  '  Arkite  sym- 
bolism,' till  now  sober  students  hear  the  very  name  of  ophiolatry 
with  a  shudder."  ^  He  repeatedly  speaks  of  a  people  whom  he 
calls  the  "  Takshaks,"  apparently  one  of  the  Scytliian  tribes. 
There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  beheve  that  serpent  worship 
formed  an  important  element  in  the  beliefs  of  the  Scythians,  or 
to  suppose  that  the  cult,  as  we  observe  it  in  India,  is  of  other  than 
indigenous  origin. 

The  more  recent  \aews  of  the  origin  of  the  Rajputs  may  be 
briefly  illustrated  in  comiexion  with  some  of  the  leading  septs. 
Dr.  Vincent  A.  Smith  holds  that  the  term  Kshatriya  was  not  an 
ethnical  but  an  occupational  designation.  Rajaputra,  '  son  of  a 
Raja,'  seems  to  have  been  a  name  applied  to  the  cadets  of  ruhng 
houses  who,  according  to  the  ancient  custom  of  tribal  society, 
were  in  the  habit  of  seeking  their  fortunes  abroad,  winning  by 
some  act  of  valour  the  hand  of  the  princess  whose  land  they  visited, 
and  with  it  the  succession  to  the  kingdom  vested  in  her  under  the 
system  of  Mother  Right.  Sir  James  Frazer  has  described  various 
forms  of  this  mode  of  succession  in  the  case  of  the  Kings  of  Rome, 
Ashanti,  Uganda,  in  certain  Greek  States,  and  other  places.^ 
Dr.  Smith  goes  on  to  say  :  "  The  term  Kshatriya  was,  I  beheve, 
always  one  of  very  vague  meaning,  simply  denoting  the  Hindu 
ruhng  classes  wliich  did  not  claim  Brahnianical  descent.  Occasion- 
ally a  raja  might  be  a  Brahman  by  caste,  but  the  Brahman's  place 
at  court  was  that  of  a  minister  rather  than  that  of  king."  "  This 
ollice  in  Rajputana,  as  we  learn  from  numerous  instances  in  The 
Annals,  was  often  taken  by  members  of  the  Bania  or  mercantile 
class,  because  the  Brahmans  of  the  Desert,  by  their  laxity  of 

1  Primitive  Culture,  2nd  ed.  ii.  239. 

*  Lectures  on  the  Early  History  of  the  Kingship,  231  £E. ;  The  Golden  Bough, 
3rd  ed. ;  The  Magic  Art,  ii.  269  ff. 
3  Early  History  oj  India,  408. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxiii 

practice,  had  acquired  an  equivocal  reputation,  and  were  gener- 
ally illiterate.  The  Rajput  has  always,  untU  recent  times, 
favoured  the  Bhat  or  bard  more  than  the  Brahman. 

The  group  denoted  by  the  name  Kshatriya  or  Rajput  thus 
depended  on  status  rather  than  on  descent,  and  it  was  therefore 
possible  for  foreigners  to  be  introduced  into  the  tribes  without 
any  violation  of  the  prejudices  of  caste,  which  was  then  only 
partially  developed.  In  later  times,  under  Brahman  guidance, 
the  rules  of  endogamy,  exogamy,  and  confarreaiio  have  been 
deiinitely  formulated.  But  as  the  power  of  the  priesthood 
increased,  it  was  necessary  to  disguise  this  admission  of  foreigners 
imder  a  convenient  fiction.  Hence  arose  the  legend,  told  in  two 
different  forms  in  The  Annals,  wliich  describes  how,  by  a  solemn 
act  of  purification  or  initiation,  under  the  superintendence  of  one 
of  the  ancient  Vedic  Risiiis  or  inspired  saints,  the  "  fire-born  " 
septs  were  created  to  help  the  Brahmans  in  repressing  Buddhism, 
Jainism,  or  other  heresies,  and  in  estabhshing  the  ancient  tradi- 
tional Hindu  social  pohcy,  the  temporary  downfall  of  which, 
under  the  stress  of  foreign  invasions,  is  carefully  concealed  in  the 
Hindu  sacred  Uterature.  This  privilege  was,  we  are  told,  confined 
to  four  septs,  known  as  Agnikula,  or  '  fire-born ' — the  Pramar, 
Parihar,  Chalukya  or  Solanki,  and  the  Chauhan.  But  there  is 
good  reason  to  beheve  that  the  Pramar  was  the  only  sept  which 
laid  claim  to  this  distinction  before  the  time  of  the  poet  Chand, 
who  flourished  in  the  twelfth  century  of  our  era.^  The  local 
tradition  in  Rajputana  was  so  vague  that  in  one  version  of  the 
story  Vasishtha,  in  the  other  Visvamitra,  is  said  to  have  been  the 
olficiating  priest. 

In  the  case  of  the  Sesodias  of  Mewar,  Mr.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar 
has  given  reasons  to  beheve  that  Gehlot  or  Guliilot  means  simply 
'  son  of  Guliila,'  an  abbreviation  of  Guhadatta,  the  name  of  its 
founder.^  He  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  the  Gurjara  stock, 
kinsmen  or  aUies  of  the  Huns  who  entered  India  about  the  sixth 
century  of  our  era,  and  founded  a  kingdom  in  Rajputana  with  its 
capital  at  Bhilmal  or  Srimal,  about  fifty  miles  from  Mount  Abu, 

^  Journal  Royal  Asiatic  /Society,  1905,  I  11".  The  tradition  seems  to  have 
started  earlier  in  Southern  India,  y.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar,  Ancient 
India,  1911,  390  ff. 

-  Journal  Asiatic  Society  Bengal,  1909,  167  ff.  The  criticism  by  Pandit 
Mohaulal  Vishnulal  Pandia  [ibid.,  1912,  63  ff.)  is  extremely  feeble. 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

the  scene  of  the  regeneration  of  the  Rajputs.  This  branch,  which 
took  the  name  of  Maitrika,  is  said  to  be  closely  connected  with  the 
Mer  tribe,  which  gave  its  name  to  Merwara,  and  is  fully  described 
in  The  Annals.  The  actual  conqueror  of  Chitor,  Bapa  or  Bappa, 
is  said  in  inscriptions  to  have  belonged  to  the  branch  known  as 
Nagar,  or  '  City  '  Brahmans  which  has  its  present  headquarters 
at  the  town  of  Vadnagar  in  the  Baroda  State.  Tliis  conversion 
of  a  Brahman  into  a  Rajput  is  at  first  sight  starthng,  but  the  fact 
implies  that  the  institution  of  caste,  as  we  observe  it,  was  then 
only  imperfectly  estabfished,  and  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
believing  that  a  Brahman  could  be  ancestor  of  a  princely  house 
which  now  claims  descent  from  the  Sun.  As  will  appear  later  on, 
Bapa  seems  to  be  a  historical  personage.  These  facts  help  us  to 
understand  the  strange  story  in  The  Annals,  which  tells  how 
Gohaditya  received  inauguration  as  chief  by  having  his  forehead 
smeared  with  blood  drawn  from  the  finger  of  a  BhJl,  a  form  of  the 
blood  covenant  which  appears  among  many  savage  tribes.^  In 
those  days  no  definite  hne  was  drawn  between  the  Bhlls,  now  a 
wild  forest  tribe,  and  the  Rajputs.  The  Bhils  were  the  free  lords 
of  the  jungle,  original  owners  of  the  soil,  and  though  they  practised 
rites  and  followed  customs  repulsive  to  orthodox  Hindus,  they 
did  not  share  in  the  impvu-ity  which  attached  to  foul  outcastes 
like  the  Dom  or  the  Chandala. ,  As  the  Bhils  were  believed  to  be 
autochthonous,  and  thus  understood  the  methods  of  controlling 
or  conciliating  the  local  spirits,  by  this  form  of  inauguration  they 
passed  on  their  knowledge  to  the  Rajputs  whom  they  accepted 
as  their  lords.  The  relations  of  the  Minas,  another  jungle  tribe 
of  the  same  class,  with  the  Kachhwahas  of  Jaipur  were  of  the 
same  kind. 

According  to  the  bardic  legend  given  in  The  Annals,  the 
Rathors,  the  second  great  Rajput  clan,  owed  their  origin  to  a 
migration  of  a  body  of  its  members  to  the  western  Desert  when 
the  territory  of  Kanauj  was  conquered  by  Shihabu-d-din  in  a.d. 
1193.  But  it  is  now  certain  that  the  ruling  dynasty  of  Kanauj 
belonged,  not  to  the  Rathor,  but  to  the  Gaharwar  clan,  and  that 
the  first  Rathor  settlement  in  Rajputana  must  have  occurred 
anterior  to  the  conquest  of  Kanauj  by  the  Musalmans.  An 
inscription,  dated  a.d.  997,  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  town 
of  Hathundi  or  Hastikundi  in  the  Bali  Hakumat  of  the  Jodhpur 
j  ^  E.  S.  Hartland,  Primitive  Paternity,  i.  258  ff. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxv 

State,  names  four  Rathor  Rajas  who  reigned  there  in  the  tenth 
century.^  The  local  legend  is  an  attempt  to  connect  the  line  of 
Rathor  princes  with  the  Kanaiij  dynasty.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  the  Deccan  dynasty  of  the  Rashtrakiitas  which,  in  name  at 
least,  is  identical  with  Rathor,  reigning  at  Nasik  or  Malkhed  from 
A.D.  753  to  973,  was  connected  with  the  Reddis  or  Raddis,  a 
caste  of  cultivators  which  seem  to  have  migrated  from  Madras 
into  the  Deccan  at  an  early  period.  But  any  racial  connexion 
between  the  Deccan  Reddis  and  the  Rathors  of  Rajputana  is 
very  doubtful.*  * 

The  Chandel  clan,  ranked  in  The  Annals  among  the  Thirty- 
six  Royal  Races,  is  believed  to  be  closely  connected  with  the 
Bhars  and  Gonds,  forest  tribes  of  Bundelkhand  and  the  Central 
Provinces.  Mr.  R.  V.  Russell  prefers  to  connect  them  with  the 
Bhars  alone,  on  the  ground  that  the  Gonds,  according  to  the  best 
traditions,  entered  the  Central  Provinces  from  the  south,  and 
made  no  effective  settlement  in  Bundelkhand,  the  headquarters 
of  the  Chandels.^  But  there  was  a  Gond  settlement  in  the 
Hainlrpur  District  of  Bundelkhand,  and  the  close  connexion 
between  the  Gonds  and  the  Chandels  began  in  what  is  now  the 
Chhatarpur  State. 

The  results  of  recent  investigations  into  Rajput  ethnology  are  > 
thus  of  great  importance,  and  enable  us  to  correct  the  bardic 
legends  on  which  the  genealogies  recorded  in  The  Annals  were 
founded.  Much  remains  to  be  done  before  the  question  can  be 
finally  settled.  The  local  Rajput  traditions  and  the  ballads  of 
the  bards  must  be  collected  and  edited  ;  the  ancient  sites  in 
Rajputana  must  be  excavated  ;  physical  measurements,  now 
somewhat  discredited  as  a  test  of  racial  affinities,  must  be  made  in 
larger  numbers  and  by  more  scientific  methods.  But  the  general 
thesis  that  some  of  the  nobler  Rajput  septs  are  descended  from 
Gurjaras  or  other  foreigners,  while  others  are  closely  connected 
with  the  autochthonous  races,  may  be  regarded  as  definitely 
proved. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  parts  of  The  Annals  is  the  chapter 

1  K.  D.  Eiskine,  Gazetteer  Western  Rajput  States  and  Bikaner  Agency, 
A.  i.  177. 

2  Bombay  Gazetteer,!.  Part  i.  385;  Bombay  Census  Heport,  1911,  i.  279; 
Smith,  Early  History,  413. 

s  Tribes  and  Castes  of  llie  Central  Provinces,  iv.  441. 


xxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

describing  the  popular  religion  of  Mewar,  the  festival  and  rites 
in  honour  of  Gauri,  the  Mother  goddess.  There  are  also  many 
incidental  notices  of  cults  and  superstitions  scattered  through 
the  work.  A  race  of  warriors  like  the  Rajputs  naturally  favours 
the  worship  of  Siva  who,  as  the  successor  of  Rudra,  the  Vedic 
storm-god,  was  originally  a  terror-inspiring  deity,  a  side  of  his 
character  only  imperfectly  veiled  by  his  euphemistic  title  of  Siva, 
'  the  blessed  or  auspicious  One.'  In  his  phallic  manifestation 
his  chief  shrine  is  at  Eklingji,  '  the  single  or  notable  phallus,' 
about  fourteen  miles  north  of  Udaipur  city.  The  Ranas  hold 
the  office  of  priest-kings,  Dlwans  or  prime-ministers  of  the  god. 
Their  association  with  this  deity  has  been  explained  by  an  in- 
scription recently  found  in  the  temple  of  Natha,  '  the  Lord,' 
now  used  as  a  storeroom  of  Jhe  Eklingji  temple.^  The  inscription, 
dated  a.d.  971,  is  in  form  of  a  dedication  to  LakulTsa,  a  form  of 
Siva  represented  as  bearing  a  club,  and  refers  to  the  Saiva  sect 
known  as  Lakullsa-Pasapatas.  It  records  the  name  of  a  king 
named  Sri-Bappaka,  '  the  moon  among  the  princes  of  the  Guhila 
dynasty,'  who  reigned  at  a  place  called  Nagahvada,  identified 
with  Nagda,  an  ancient  town  several  times  mentioned  in  The 
Annals,  the  ruins  of  which  exist  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which 
the  temple  of  Eklingji  stands.  Sri-Bappaka  is  certainly  Bapa 
or  Bappa,  the  traditional  founder  of  the  Mewar  dynasty,  which 
had  at  that  time  its  capital  at  Nagda.  From  this  inscription  it  is 
clear  that  the  Eklingji  temple  was  in  existence  before  a.d.  971, 
and,  as  Mr.  Bhandarkar  remarks,  "  it  shows  that  the  old  tradition 
about  Nagendra  and  Bappa  Rawal's  infancy  given  by  Tod  had 
some  historical  foundation,  and  it  is  intelligible  how  the  Ranas  of 
Udaipur  could  have  come  to  have  such  an  intimate  connexion  with 
the  temple  as  that  of  high  priests,  in  which  capacity  they  still 
officiate."  This  office  vested  in  them  is  a  good  example  of  one 
of  those  dynasties  of  priest-kings  of  which  Sir  James  Frazer  has 
given  an  elaborate  account.^ 

The  milder  side  of  the  Rajput  character  is  represented  in  the 
cult  of  Krishna  at  Nathdwara.  The  Mahant  or  Abbot  of  the 
temple,  situated  at  the  old  village  of  Siarh,  twenty-two  miles 

^  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  Journal  Bombay  Branch  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
1916,  Art.  xii. 

2  The.  Golden  Bauqh,  3rd  ed. ;  The  Magic  Art,  i.  44  flf.  ;  Adonis,  Attis, 
Osiris,  i.  42  f.,  143  £f. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxvii 

from  the  city  of  Udaipur,  enjoys  semi-royal  state.  In  anticipation 
of  tlie  raid  by  Aurangzeb  on  Mathura,  a.d.  1669-70,  tlie  ancient 
image  of  Kesavadeva,  a  form  of  Krishna,  '  He  of  the  flowing 
locks,'  was  removed  out  of  reach  of  danger  by  Rana  Raj  Singh 
of  Mewar.  When  the  cart  bearing  the  image  arrived  at  Siarh, 
the  god,  by  stopping  the  cart,  is  said  to  have  expressed  liis  inten- 
tion of  remaining  there.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  famous  temple, 
still  visited  by  crowds  of  pilgrims,  and  one  of  the  leading  seats 
of  the  Vallabhacharya  sect,  '  the  Epicureans  of  the  East,'  whose 
practices,  as  disclosed  in  the  famous  Maharaja  libel  case,  tried  at 
Bombay  in  1861,  gave  rise  to  grievous  scandal.^  The  ill-feeling 
against  this  sect,  aroused  by  these  revelations,  was  so  intense  that 
the  Maharaja  of  Jaipur  ordered  that  the  two  famous  images  of 
Krishna  worshipped  in  his  State,  which  originally  came  from 
Gokul,  near  Mathura,  should  be  removed  from  his  territories 
into  those  of  the  Bharatpur  State. 

Tod  bears  witness  to  the  humanizing  effect  on  the  Rajputs  of 
the  worship  of  this  god,  whom  he  calls  "  the  Apollo  of  Braj,"  the 
holy  land  of  Krishna  near  Mathura.  He  also  asserts  that  the 
Emperor  Akbar  favoured  the  worship  of  Krishna,  a  feeling  shared 
by  his  successors  Jahangir  and  Shah  Jahan.  Akbar,  in  his  search 
for  a  new  faith  to  supersede  Islam,  of  which  he  was  parens  cultor 
et  infrequens,  dallied  with  Hindu  Pandits,  Parsi  priests,  and 
Christian  missionaries,  and  he  was  doubtless  well  informed  about 
the  sensuous  ritual  of  the  temple  of  Nathdwara.^ 

The  character  of  the  Rajputs  is  discussed  in  many  passages 
in  The  Annals.  The  Author  expresses  marked  sympathy  with 
the  people  among  whom  his  official  life  was  spent,  and  he  expresses 
gratitude  for  the  courtesy  and  confidence  which  they  bestowed 
upon  him.  This  applies  specially  to  the  Sesodias  of  Mewar  and 
the  Rathors  of  Marwar,  with  whom  he  lived  in  the  closest  intimacy. 
He  sliows,  on  the  other  hand,  a  decided  prejudice  against  the 
Kachhwahas  of  Jaipur,  of  whose  diplomacy  he  disapproved. 
This  feeling,  we  may  suspect,  was  due  in  part  to  their  hesitation 
in  accepting  the  British  alliance,  a  policy  in  which  he  was  deeply 
interested. 

1  Karsandas  Mulji,  History  of  the  Sect  of  the  Maharajas  or  Vallabhdcharyas, 
London,  1865 ;  Report  of  the  Mahdrdj  Libel  Case,  Bombay,  1862 ;  F.  S. 
Growse,  Mathura,  3rd  ed.  283  f. 

2  V.  A.  Smith,  Akbar,  The  Great  Mogul,  162  ff. 


xxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

The  virtues  of  the  Rajput  He  on  the  surface — their  loyalty, 
devotion,  and  gallantry  ;  their  chivalry  towards  women  ;  their 
regard  for  their  national  customs.  Their  weaknesses — though 
Tod  does  not  enumerate  them  in  detail — are  obvious  from  a  study 
of  their  history — their  instability  of  character,  their  liability  to 
sudden  outbreaks  of  passion,  their  tendency  to  yield  to  panic  on 
the  battlefield,  their  inability,  as  a  result  of  their  tribal  system, 
to  form  a  permanent  combination  against  a  public  enemy,  their 
occasional  faithlessness  to  their  chiefs  and  allies,  their  excessiv-e 
use  of  opium.  These  defects  they  share  with  most  orientals,  but, 
on  the  whole,  they  compare  favourably  with  other  races  in  the 
Indian  Empire.  There  is  much  in  their  character  and  institutions 
which  reminds  us  of  the  Gauls  as  pictured  by  Mommsen  in  a 
striking  passage.^  Rajput  women  are  described  as  virtuous, 
affectionate,  and  devoted,  taking  part  in  the  control  of  the  family, 
sharing  with  their  husbands  the  dangers  of  war  and  sport,  con- 
temptuous of  the  coward,  and  exercising  a  salutary  influence  in 
public  and  domestic  affairs. 

Strangely  enough,  Tod  omits  to  give  us  a  detailed  account  of 
their  marriage  regulations  and  ceremonies.  According  to  Mr. 
E.  H.  Kealy,^  while  male  children  under  one  year  old  exceed  the 
females,  "  the  excess  is  not  sufficiently  great  to  justify  the  con- 
clusion that  female  babies  are  murdered,  nor  is  the  theory  that 
female  infants  lost  their  lives  by  neglect  supported  by  the 
statistics.  Unhappily  the  returns  show  that  a  high  proportion 
of  married  women  is  combined  with  a  very  low  percentage  of 
females  as  compared  with  males  between  the  ages  of  ten  and 
fourteen,  the  early  stage  of  married  life,  and  this  defect  is  largely 
due  to  premature  cohabitation,  lack  of  medical  attendance,  and 
of  sanitary  precautions."  No  one  can  read  without  horror  the 
many  narratives  of  the  Johar,  the  final  sacrifice  by  which  womei\ 
in  the  hour  of  defeat  gave  their  lives  to  save  their  honour,  and  of 
the  numerous  cases  of  Sati.  Both  these  customs  are  now  only 
a  matter  of  history,  but  so  late  as  1879  General  Hervey  was  able 
to  count  at  the  Bikaner  palace  the  handmarks  of  at  least  thirty- 
seven  widows  who  ascended  the  pyre  with  their  lords.* 

Much  space  in   The  Annals  is  occupied  by  a  review  of  the 

1  History  of  Rome,  ed.  1866,  iv.  209  if. ' 

*  Censufs  Report,  Rajpittana,  1911,  i.  132. 

*  Some  Rerorch  of  Crime,  ii,  217  f. 


INTRODUCTION  xxxix 

so-called  '  Feudal  '  system  in  Rajputana.  Tod  was  naturally 
attracted  in  the  course  of  his  discursive  reading  by  Henry 
Hallam's  View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
which  first  appeared  in  1818,  four  years  before  Tod  resigned  his 
Indian  appointment.  Hallam  himself  was  careful  to  point  out 
that  "  it  is  of  great  importance  to  be  on  our  guard  against  seeming 
analogies  which  vanish  away  when  they  are  closely  observed."  ^ 
This  warning  Tod  unguardedly  overlooked.  Hallam  recognized 
that  Feudalism  was  an  institution  the  ultimate  origin  of  which 
is  still,  to  some  extent,  obscure.  It  possibly  began  with  the 
desire  for  protection,  the  rakhzvdli  of  the  Rajputs,  but  it  seems 
to  have  been  ultimately  based  on  the  private  law  of  Rome,  while 
the  influence  of  the  Church,  interested  in  securing  its  endowments, 
was  a  factor  in  its  evolution.  In  its  completed  form  it  represented 
the  final  stage  of  a  process  which  began  under  the  Frankish 
conquerors  of  Gaul.  At  any  rate,  it  was  of  European  origin,  and 
though  it  absorbed  much  that  was  common  to  the  types  of  tribal 
organization  found  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  it  was  moulded  by 
the  political,  social,  and  economical  environment  amidst  which 
it  was  developed.  Hence,  while  it  is  possible  to  trace,  as  Tod  has 
done,  certain  analogies  between  the  tribal  institutions  of  the 
Rajputs  and  the  social  organization  of  medieval  Europe — 
analogies  of  feudal  incidents  connected  with  Reliefs,  Fines  upon 
alienation,  Escheats,  Aids,  Wardship,  and  Marriage  —  these 
analogies,  when  more  closely  examined,  are  found  to  be  in  the 
main  superficial.  If  we  desire  to  undertake  a  comparative  study 
of  the  Rajput  tribal  system,  it  is  unnecessary  to  travel  to  medieval 
Europe,  while  we  have  close  at  hand  the  social  organization  of 
more  or  less  kindred  tribes  on  the  Indian  borderland,  Pathans, 
Afghans,  or  ^aloch  ;  or,  in  a  more  primitive  stage,  those  of  the 
Kandhs,  Gonds,  Mtindas,  or  Oraons.  It  is  of  little  service  to 
compare  two  systems  of  which  only  the  nucleus  is  common  to 
both,  and  to  place  side  by  side  institutions  which  present  only 
a  factitious  similitude,  because  the  social  development  of  each 
has  progressed  on  different  lines. 

The  Author's  excursions  into  philology  are  the  diversions  of 
a-  clever  man,  not  of  a  trained  scholar,  but  interested  in  the 
subject  as  an  amateur.  In  his  time  the  new  learning  on  oriental 
subjects  had  only  recently  begun  to  attract  the  attention  of 

1   View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  12th  ed.  1868,  i.  186. 
VOL.  I  d 


xl  •      INTRODUCTION 

scholars,  of  which  Sir  W.  Jones  was  the  prophet.  Tod  was  a 
diligent  student  of  The  Asiatic  Researches,  the  publication  of 
which  began  at  Calcutta  in  1788.  While  much  material  of  value 
is  to  be  found  in  these  volumes,  many  papers  of  Captain  Francis 
Wilford  and  others  are  full  of  rash  speculations  which  have  not 
survived  later  criticism.  Tod  is  not  to  blame  because  he  followed 
the  guidance  of  scholars  who  contributed  articles  to  the  leading 
Indian  review  of  his  time  ;  because  he  was  ignorant  of  the  laws 
of  Grimm  or  Verner ;  because,  like  his  contemporaries,  he 
believed  that  the  mythology  of  Egypt  or  Palestine  influenced  the 
beliefs  of  the  Indian  people.  It  was  his  fate  that  many  of  his 
guesses  were  quoted  with  approval  by  writers  like  T,  Maurice  in 
his  Indian  Antiquities,  and  by  N.  Pococke  in  his  India  in  Greece. 
It  is  also  well  to  remember  that  many  of  the  derivations  of  the 
names  of  Indian  deities,  confidently  proposed  by  Kuhn  and  Max 
Muller  a  few  years  ago,  are  no  longer  accepted.  Tod,  at  any 
rate,  published  his  views  on  Feudalism  and  Philology  without 
any  pretence  of  dogmatism. 

One  special  question  deserves  examination  —  the  constant 
references  to  the  cult  of  Bal-Siva,  a  form  of  the  Sun  god.  A 
learned  Indian  scholar.  Pandit  Gaurishankar  Ojha,  who  is  now 
engaged  on  an  annotated  edition  of  The  Annals  in  Hindi,  states 
that  no  temple  or  image  dedicated  to  tliis  god  is  known  in 
Rajputana.  It  is,  of  course,  not  unlikely  that  Siva,  as  a  deity 
of  fertility,  should  be  associated  with  Sun  worship,  but  there 
is  no  evidence  of  the  cult  on  which  Tod  lays  special  stress-  It 
is  almost  useless  to  speculate  on  the  source  of  his  error.  It 
may  be  based  on  a  reference  in  the  Ain-i-Akhari  ^  to  a  certain 
Balnath,  Jogi,  who  occupied  a  cell  in  a  place  in  the  Sindh  Sagar 
Duab  of  the  Panjab.  At  the  same  time,  like  many  of  the 
writers  of  his  day,  he  may  have  had  the  Semitic  Baal  in  his 
mind. 

It  was  largely  due  to  imperfect  information  received  from  his 
assistants  that  he  shared  with  other  writers  of  the  time  the  con- 
fusion between  Buddhism  and  Jainism,  and  supposed  that  the 
former  religion  was  introduced  into  India  from  Central  Asia. 
His  elaborate  attempt  to  extract  history  and  a  trustworthy 
scheme  of  chronology  from  the  Puranas  must  be  pronounced  to 
be  a  failure.     Recently  a  learned  scholar,  Mr.  F.  E.  Pargiter,  has 

1  ii.  315. 


INTRODUCTION  xli 

shown  how  far  an  examination  of  these  authorities  can  be  con- 
ducted with  any  approach  to  probability.^ 

The  questions  wliich  have  been  discussed  do  not,  to  any 
important  extent,  detract  from  the  real  value  of  the  work.  Even 
in  those  points  which  are  most  open  to  criticism,  The  Annals 
possesses  importance  because  it  represents  a  phase  in  the  study 
of  Indian  religions,  ethnology,  and  sociology'.  No  one  can 
examine  it  without  increasing  pleasure  and  admiration  for  a 
writer  who,  immersed  in  arduous  official  work,  was  able  to  in- 
dulge his  tastes  for  research.  His  was  the  first  real  attempt  to 
investigate  the  beliefs  of  the  peasantry  as  contrasted  with  the 
official  Brahmanism,  a  study  which  in  recent  years  has  revolu- 
tionized the  current  conceptions  of  Hinduism.  Even  if  his 
versions  of  the  inscriptions  which  he  collected  fail  to  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  more  recent  scholars,  he  deserves  credit  for 
rescuing  from  neglect  and  almost  certain  destruction  epigraphical 
material  for  the  use  of  his  successors.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  drawings  of  buildings,  some  of  which  have  fallen  into  decay, 
or  have  been  mutilated  by  their  careless  guardians.  When  he 
deals  with  facts  which  came  under  his  personal  observation,  his 
accounts  of  beliefs,  folk-lore,  social  life,  customs,  and  manners 
possess  permanent  value. 

He  observed  the  Rajputs  when  they  were  in  a  stage  of  transi- 
tion. Isolated  by  the  inaccessibility  of  their  country,  they  were 
the  last  guardians  of  Hindu  beliefs,  institutions,  and  manners 
against  the  rising  tide  of  the  Muhammadan  invasions  ;  without 
their  protection  much  that  is  important  for  the  study  of  the  Hindus 
must  have  disappeared.  To  avoid  anarchy  and  the  ultimate 
destruction  of  these  States,  it  was  necessary  for  them  ta  accept 
a  closer  union  with  the  British  as  the  paramount  power.  By 
this  they  lost  something,  but  they  gained  much.  The  new 
connexion  involved  new  duties  and  responsibiUties  in  adapting 
their  primitive  system  of  government  to  modern  requirements. 
Tod  thus  stood  at  the  parting  of  the  ways.  With  the  introduction 
of  the  railway  and  the  post-office,  the  disappearance  of  the  caravan 
as  a  means  of  transport,  the  increase  of  trade,  the  gi-owth  of  new 
wants  and  possibilities  of  development  in  association  with  the 

^  "  Ancient  Indian  Genealogies  and  Chronology,"  "  Earliest  Indian 
Traditional  History,"  Journal  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  January  1910,  April 
1914. 


xlii  INTRODUCTION 

Empire,  the  period  of  Rajput  isolation  came  to  a  close.  To  some 
it  may  be  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  personal  rule  of  the  Chief 
over  a  people  strongly  influenced  by  what  they  term  swdmldharma, 
the  reciprocal  loyalty  of  subject  to  prince  and  of  prince  to  people, 
should  be  replaced  by  a  government  of  a  more  popular  type.  But 
this  change  was,  in  the  nature  of  things,  inevitable.  As  an 
example  of  this,  a  statement  made  by  the  Maharaja  of  BIkaner, 
when  he  was  summoned  to  attend  the  Imperial  Conference  in  1917, 
may  be  quoted.  "  In  my  own  territories  we  inaugurated  some  years 
ago  the  beginnings  of  a  representative  assembly.  It  now  consists 
of  elected,  as  well  as  nominated,  non-official  members,  and  their 
legislative  powers  follow  the  lines  of  those  laid  down  for  the 
Legislatures  of  British  India  in  the  1909  reforms.  In  respect  to 
the  Budget  they  have  the  same  powers  as  those  conferred  on  the 
Supreme  and  Provincial  Legislatures  in  British  India  by  the 
Lansdowne  reforms  in  force  from  1893  to  1909.  When  announcing 
my  intention  of  creating  this  representative  body,  I  intimated 
that  as  the  people  showed  their  fitness  they  would  be  entrusted 
with  more  powers.  Accordingly,  at  the  end  of  the  first  triennial 
term,  when  the  elections  will  take  place,  we  are  revising  the  rules 
of  business  in  the  direction  of  greater  liberality  and  of  removing 
unnecessary  restrictions."  It  remains  to  be  seen  how  far  this 
policy  will  prove  to  be  successful. 

It  was  a  happy  accident  that  before  the  period  of  transi- 
tion had  begun  in  earnest,  such  a  competent  and  sympathetic 
observer  should  have  been  able  to  examine  and  record  one  of 
the  most  interesting  surviving  phases  of  the  ancient  Hindu 
polity. 

A  soldier  and  a  sportsman,  Tod  learned  to  understand  the 
romantic,  adventurous  side  of  the  Rajput  character,  and  he 
recorded  with  full  appreciation  the  fine  stories  of  manly  valour, 
of  the  self-sacrifice  of  women,  the  tragedies  of  the  sieges  of  Chitor, 
the  heroism  of  Ranas  Sanga  and  Partab  Singh,  or  of  Durgadas. 
Many  of  these  tales  recall  the  age  of  medieval  chivalry,  and  Tod 
is  at  his  best  in  recording  them.  No  one  can  read  without  admira- 
tion his  account  of  the  attack  of  the  Saktawats  and  Chondawats 
on  Untala  ;  of  Suja  and  the  tiger  ;  the  tragedy  of  Krishna 
Kunwari  ;  of  the  queen  of  Ganor  ;  of  Sanjogta  of  Kanauj  ;  of 
Guga  Chauhan  and  Alu  Hara.  In  many  of  these  tales  the  Rajput 
displays  the  loyalty  and  valour,  the  punctilious  regard  for  his 


INTRODUCTION  xliu 

personal  honour  wliicli  in  the  case  of  the  Spanish  grandee  have 
passed  into  a  proverb. 

While  the  Rajput  is  courteous  in  his  intercourse  with  those 
who  are  prepared  to  take  him  as  he  is,  when  he  meets  an  English 
officer  he  resents  any  hint  of  patronage,  he  is  jealous  of  any 
intrusion  on  the  secluded  folk  behind  the  curtain,  and  he  is  often 
rather  an  acquaintance  than  a  friend,  inchned  to  shelter  himself 
behind  a  dignified  reserve,  unwilUng  to  open  his  mind  to  any  one 
who  does  not  accept  his  traditional  attitude  towards  men  of  a 
different  race  and  of  a  different  faith.  When  he  makes  a  cere- 
monial visit  to  a  European  officer,  his  conversation  is  often  con- 
fined to  conventional  compliments,  or  chat  about  the  weather 
and  the  state  of  the  crops. 

To  remove  these  difficulties  which  obstruct  friendly  and  con- 
fidential intercourse,  the  young  officer  in  India  may  be  advised 
to  study  the  methods  illustrated  in  this  work.  But  he  will  do 
well  to  avoid  Tod's  openly  expressed  partisanship.  He  owed 
the  affection  and  respect  bestowed  upon  Mm  by  prince  and 
peasant,  and  even  by  the  jealously  guarded  ladies  of  the  zenanah, 
to  his  kindhness  and  sympathy,  his  readiness  to  converse  freely 
with  men  of  aU  classes,  his  patience  in  hstening  to  grievances, 
even  those  wliich  he  had  no  power  to  redress,  his  impartiahty  as 
an  arbitrator  between  the  Rana  of  Mewar  and  his  people  or 
between  individuals  or  sects  unfriendly  to  each  other.  He  studied 
the  national  traditions  and  usages  ;  he  knew  enough  of  reUgious 
behefs  and  of  social  customs  to  save  lihn  from  giving  offence  by 
word  or  deed  ;  he  could  converse  with  the  people  in  their  own 
patois,  and  could  give  point  to  a  remark  by  an  apt  quotation  of  a 
proverb  or  a  scrap  of  an  old  ballad. 

When,  if  ever,  a  new  history  of  the  Rajputs  comes  to  be 
written,  it  must  be  largely  based  on  Tod's  collections,  supple- 
mented by  wider  historical,  antiquarian,  and  epigraphical  research. 
The  liistory  of  the  last  century  cannot  be  compiled  until  the 
recent  administration  reports,  now  treated  as  confidential,  and 
the  muniment  rooms  of  Calcutta  and  London  are  open  to  the 
student.  But  it  is  unlikely  that,  for  the  present  at  least,  any 
writer  will  enjoy,  as  Tod  did,  access  to  the  records  and  correspond- 
ence stored  in  the  palaces  of  the  Chiefs. 

For  the  Rajput  himself  and  for  natives  of  India  interested  in 
the  history  of  their  coimtry,  the  work  will  long  retain  its  value. 


xliv  INTRODUCTION 

It  preserves  a  record  of  tribal  rights  and  privileges,  of  claims 
based  on  ancient  tradition,  of  feuds  and  their  settlement,  of 
genealogies  and  family  history  which,  but  for  Tod's  careful  record, 
might  have  been  forgotten  or  misinterpreted  even  by  the  Rajputs 
themselves.  In  the  original  Enghsh  text  which  many  Rajputs 
are  now  able  to  study  they  will  find  a  picture  of  tribal  society, 
now  rapidly  disappearing,  drawn  by  a  competent  and  friendly 
hand.  Its  interest  will  not  be  diminished  by  the  fact  that  while 
the  writer  displays  a  hearty  admiration  for  the  Rajput  character, 
he  is  not  blind  to  its  defects.  At  any  rate,  the  Rajput  will  enjoy 
the  satisfaction  that  his  race  has  been  selected  to  furnish  the 
materials  for  the  most  comprehensive  monograph  ever  compiled 
by  a  British  officer  describing  one  of  the  leading  peoples  of  India. 


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North-West  Fi-ontier  Province.     2  vols.     Lahore,  1911-14. 
Russell,  R.  V.     The  Tribes  and  Castes  of  the  Central  Provinces  of 

India.     4  vols.     London,  1916. 
Sherring,  C.  R.     Western  Tibet  and  the  British  Borderland.     London, 

1906. 
Sherring,  M.  A.     The  Sacred  City  of  the  Hindus.     London,  1888. 
Skrine,  F.  H.  D.  ;  Ross,  E.  D.     The  Heart  of  Asia.     London,  1899. 
Sleeman,  W.  H.     Rambles  and  Recollections  of  an  Indian  Official, 

ed.  V.  A.  Smith.     2nd  ed.     Oxford,  1915. 
Smith,  Vincent  A.     EHI.     The  Early  History  of  India  from  600  b.c. 

to  the  Muhammadan  Conquest,  including  the  Invasions  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great.     3rd  ed.     Oxford,  1914. 

HFA.     A  History  of  Fine  Art  in  India  and  Ceylon  from   the 

Earliest  Period  to  the  Present  Day.     Oxford,  1911. 

Asoka,  The  Buddhist  Emperor  of  India.     2nd  ed.     Oxford,  1909. 
Akbar,  the  Great  Mogul.     Oxford,  1917. 
Smith,   W.   R.      The    Religion   of  the   Semites.      2nd   ed.      London, 

1894. 
Syad  Muhammad  Latif.     Agra  Historical  and  Descriptive.     Calcutta, 

1896. 
Sykes,  Lieut  .-Colonel  P.  M.    The  History  of  Persia.     2  vols.    London, 

1915. 
Tarikh-i-Rashidi :    A  History  of  the  Moghuls  of  Central  Asia,  trans. 

N.  E.  Elias,  E.  D.  Ross.     London,  1898. 
Tavernier,  J.  B.     Travels  in  India,  ed.  V.  Ball.     2  vols.     London, 

1889. 
Temple,  Sir   R.  C.     The  Legends  of  the  Panjab.     3  vols.     Bombay, 

1884. 
Terry,  E.     A  Voyage  to  East  India.     London,  1777. 
Thomas,  E.     The  Chronicles  of  the  Pathan  Kings  of  Delhi.     London, 

1871. 
Thurston,  E.    Castes  and  Tribes  of  Southern  India.    7  vols.    Madras, 

1909. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  liii 

Tod,  J.     Annals  and  Antiquities  of  Rajasthan,  or  the  Central  and 
Western     Rajpoot     States.      2     vols.      London,     1829-32.      Re- 
printed, Madras,  1873  ;    Calcutta,  1884,  1898  ;   London,  1914. 
Travels  in  Western  India.     London,  1839. 

Vishnu  Purana,  trans.  H.  H.  Wilson.     London,  1840. 

Watson,  C.  C.  Rajputana  Gazetteer.  I.  A.  Ajmer-Merwara.  Ajmer, 
1914. 

Watt.  Econ.  Diet. :  A  Dictionary  of  the  Economic  Products  of  India, 
by  Sir  G.  Watt.     6  vols.     Calcutta,  1889-93. 

Com.    Prod.     The    Commercial    Products    of   India.     London, 
1908. 

Webb,  W,  W.  The  Currencies  of  the  Hindu  States  of  Rajputana. 
Westminster,  1893. 

Wilberforce-Bell,  Captain  H.  The  History  of  Kathiawar  from  the 
Earliest  Times.     London,  191G. 

Wilson,  C.  R.  The  Early  Annals  of  the  English  in  Bengal.  3  vols. 
Calcutta,  1895-1911. 

Wilson,  H.  H.  Sketch  of  the  Religious  Sects  of  the  Hindus.  2  vols. 
London,  1861. 

The  History   of  British    India    from    1805    to    1835.      3    vols. 
London, 1845. 

Wilson,  J.     Indian  Caste.     2  vols.     Bombay,  1877. 

Yule,  Sir  H. ;  Burnell,  A.  C.  Hobson-Jobson :  A  Glossary  of 
Colloquial  Anglo-Indian  Words  and  Phrases.  2nd  ed.  London, 
1903, 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 
FIRST  VOLUME  OF  THE  ORIGINAL 
EDITION 


Much  disappointment  has  been  felt  in  Europe  at  the  sterility  of 
the  liistoric  muse  of  Hindustan.  When  Sir  William  Jones  first 
began  to  explore  the  vast  mines  of  Sanskrit  literature,  great  hopes 
were  entertained  that  the  history  of  the  world  would  acquire 
considerable  accessions  from  this  source.  The  sanguine  expecta- 
tions that  were  then  formed  have  not  been  realized  ;  and,  as  it 
usually  happens,  excitement  has  been  succeeded  by  apathy  and 
indifference.  It  is  now  generally  regarded  as  an  axiom,  that 
India  possesses  no  national  history  ;  to  which  we  may  oppose  the 
remark  of  a  French  Orientalist,  who  ingeniously  asks,  whence 
Abu-1  Fazl  obtained  the  materials  for  his  outlines  of  ancient  Hindu 
history  ?  ^  Mr.  Wilson  has;  indeed,  done  much  to  obviate  this 
prejudice,  by  his  translation  of  the  Raja  Tarangini,  or  History 
of  Kashmir,^  which  clearly  demonstrates  that  regular  historical 
composition  was  an  art  not  unknown  in  Hindustan,  and  affords 
satisfactory  ground  for  concluding  that  these  productions  were 
once  less  rare  than  at  present,  and  that  further  exertion  may 
bring  more  relics  to  Ught.  Although  the  labours  of  Colebrooke, 
Wilkins,  Wilson,  and  others  of  our  own  countrymen,  emulated  by 

^  M.  Abel  Remusat,  in  his  Melanges  Asiatiques,  makes  many  apposite 
and  forcible  remarks  on  this  subject,  which,  without  intention,  convey  a 
just  reproof  to  the  lukewarmness  of  our  countiymen.  The  institution  of 
the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  especially  that  branch  of  it  devoted  to  Oriental 
translations,  may  yet  redeem  this  reproach. 

2  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  xv.  [The  Rajatarangini  of  Kalhana  has  been 
translated  by  M.  A.  Stein,  2  vols.,  London,  1910.] 

VOL.  I  Iv  e 


Ivi  AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

many  learned  men  in  France  [viii]  and  Germany,^  have  revealed 
to  Europe  some  of  the  hidden  lore  of  India  ;  still  it  is  not  pre- 
tended that  we  have  done  much  more  than  pass  the  threshold  of 
Indian  science  ;  and  we  are  consequently  not  competent  to  speak 
decisively  of  its  extent  or  its  character.  Immense  libraries,  in 
various  parts  of  India,  are  still  intact,  which  have  sur^ved  the 
devastations  of  the  Islamite.  The  collections  of  Jaisalmer  and 
Patan,  for  example,  escaped  the  scrutiny  of  even  the  lynx-eyed 
Alau-d-din  who  conquered  both  these  kingdoms,  and  who  would 
have  shown  as  little  mercy  to  those  literary  treasures,  as  Omar 
displayed  towards  the  Alexandrine  library.  Many  other  minor 
collections,  consisting  of  thousands  of  volumes  each,  exist'  in 
Central  and  Western  India,  some  of  which  are  the  private  property 
of  princes,  and  others  belong  to  the  Jain  commimities.^ 

If  we  consider  the  political  changes  and  convulsions  which  have 
happened  in  Hindustan  since  Mahmud's  invasion,  and  the  in- 
tolerant bigotry  of  many  of  his  successors,  we  shall  be  able  to 
account  for  the  paucity  of  its  national  works  on  history,  without 
being  driven  to  the  improbable  conclusion,  that  the  Hindus  were 

^  When  the  genius  and  erudition  of  such  men  as  Schlegel  are  added  to 
the  zeal  which  characterizes  that  celebrated  writer,  what  revelations  may  we 
not  yet  expect  from  the  cultivation  of  oriental  literature  ? 

2  Some  copies  of  these  Jain  MSS.  from  Jaisalmer,  which  were  written 
from  five  to  eight  centuries  back,  I  presented  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society. 
Of  the  vast  numbers  of  these  MS.  books  in  the  libraries  of  Patan  and  Jaisal- 
mer, many  are  of  the  most  remote  antiquity,  and  in  a  character  no  longer 
understood  by  their  possessors,  or  only  by  the  supreme  pontiff  and  liis 
initiated  librarians.  There  is  one  volume  held  so  sacred  for  its  magical 
contents,  that  it  is  suspended  by  a  chain  in  the  temple  of  Chintaman,  at  the 
last-named  capital  in  the  desert,  and  is  only  taken  down  to  have  its  covering 
renewed,  or  at  the  inauguration  of  a  pontiff.  Tradition  assigns  its  author- 
ship to  Somaditya  Suru  Acharya,  a  pontiff  of  past  days,  before  the  Islamite 
liad  crossed  the  waters  of  the  Indus,  and  whose  diocese  extended  far  beyond 
that  stream.  His  magic  mantle  is  also  here  preserved,  and  used  on  every 
new  installation.  The  character  is,  doubtless,  the  nail-headed  Pali ;  and 
could  we  introduce  the  ingenious,  indefatigable,  and  modest  Mons.  E. 
Burnouf,  with  his  able  coadjutor  Dr.  Lassen,  into  the  temple,  wo  might 
learn  something  of  this  Sibylline  volume,  without  their  incurring  the  risk 
of  loss  of  sight,  which  befcl  the  last  individual,  a  female  Yati  of  the  Jains, 
who  sacrilegiously  endeavoured  to  acquire  its  contents.  [For  tlie  temple 
library  at  Jaisalmer  see  I  A,  iv.  81  if;  for  those  at  Udaipur,  ibid.  xiii.  31. 
J.  Burgess  visited  the  Patan  library,  described  by  the  Author  (WI,  232  ff.), 
and  found  a  collection  of  paliu-lcaf  MSS.,  carefiilly  wrapped  in  cloth  and 
deposited  in  large  chests  (BO,  vii.  598).] 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  Ivii 

ignorant  of  an  art  which  has  been  cultivated  in  other  countries 
from  ahnost  the  earhest  ages.  Is  it  to  be  imagined  that  a  nation 
so  highly  civilized  as  the  Hindus,  amongst  whom  the  exact 
sciences  flourished  in  perfection,  by  whom  the  fine  arts  [ix], 
architecture,  sculpture,  poetry,  music,  were  not  only  cultivated, 
but  taught  and  defined  by  the  nicest  and  most  elaborate  rules, 
were  totally  unacquainted  with  the  simple  art  of  recording  the 
events  of  their  history,  the  characters  of  their  princes,  and  the 
acts  of  their  reigns  ?  Where  such  ti'aces  of  mind  exist,  we  can 
hardly  believe  that  there  was  a  want  of  competent  recorders  of 
events,  which  synchronical  authorities  tell  us  were  worthy  of 
commemoration.  The  cities  of  Hastinapur  and  Indraprastha, 
of  Anhilwara  and  Somanatha,  the  triumphal  columns  of  Delhi 
and  Chitpr,  the  shrines  of  Abu  and  Girnar,  the  cave-temples  of 
Elephanta  and  Ellora,  are  so  many  attestations  of  the  same  fact  ; 
nor  can  we  imagine  that  the  age  in  which  these  works  were  erected 
was  without  an  historian.  Yet  from  the  Mahabharata  or  Great 
War,  to  Alexander's  invasion,  and  from  that  grand  event  to  the 
era  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni,  scarcely  a  paragraph  of  pure  native 
Hindu  history  (except  as  before  stated)  has  hitherto  been  revealed 
to  the  curiosity  of  Western  scholars.  In  the  heroic  history  of 
Prithiraj,  the  last  of  the  Hindu  sovereigns  of  Delhi,  written  by 
his  bard  Chand,  we  find  notices  which  authorize  the  inference  that 
works  similar  to  his  own  were  then  extant,  relating  to  the  period 
between  Mahmud  and  Shihabu-d-din  (a.d.  1000-1193)  ;  but  these 
have  disappeared. 

After  eight  centuries  of  galling  subjection  to  conquerors  totally 
ignorant  of  the  classical  language  of  the  Hindus  ;  after  almost 
every  capital  city  had  been  repeatedly  stormed  and  sacked  by 
barbarous,  bigoted,  and  exasperated  foes  ;  it  is  too  much  to  expect 
that  the  literature  of  the  comitry  should  not  have  sustained,  in 
common  with  other  important  interests,  irretrievable  losses.  My 
own  animadversions  upon  the  defective  condition  of  the  annals 
of  Rajwara  have  more  than  once  been  checked  by  a  very  just 
remark  :  "  when  our  princes  were  in  exile,  driven  from  hold  to 
hold,  and  compelled  to  dwell  in  the  clefts  of  the  mountains,  often 
doubtful  whether  they  would  not  be  forced  to  [x]  abandon  the 
very  meal  preparing  for  them,  was  that  a  time  to  think  of  historical 
records  ?  " 

Those  who  expect  from  a  people  like  the  Hindus  a  species  of 


Iviii  AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

composition  of  precisely  the  same  character  as  the  historical 
works  of  Greece  and  Rome,  commit  the  very  egregious  error  of 
overlooking  the  peculiarities  which  distinguish  the  natives  of 
India  from  all  other  races,  and  which  strongly  discriminate  their 
intellectual  productions  of  every  kind  from  those  of  the  West. 
Their  philosophy,  their  poetry,  their  architecture,  are  marked 
with  traits  of  originality  ;  and  the  same  may  be  expected  to 
pervade  their  history,  which,  like  the  arts  enumerated,  took  a 
character  from  its  intimate  association  with  the  religion  of  the 
people.  It  must  be  recollected,  moreover,  that  until  a  more 
correct  taste  was  imparted  to  the  literature  of  England  and  of 
France,  by  the  study  of  classical  models,  the  chronicles  of  both 
these  countries,  and  indeed  of  all  the  polished  nations  of  Europe, 
were,  at  a  much  more  recent  date,  as  crude,  as  wild,  and  as  barren 
as  those  of  the  early  Rajputs. 

In  the  absence  of  regular  and  legitimate  historical  records, 
there  are,  however,  other  native  works  (they  may,  indeed,  be  said 
to  aboimd),  which,  in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  and  patient  investi- 
gator, would  afford  no  despicable  materials  for  the  history  of 
India.  The  first  of  these  are  the  Puranas  and  genealogical 
legends  of  the  princes,  which,  obscured  as  they  are  by  mythological 
details,  allegory,  and  improbable  circumstances,  contain  many 
facts  that  serve  as  beacons  to  direct  the  research  of  the  liistorian. 
What  Hume  remarks  of  the  annals  and  annalists  of  the  Saxon 
Heptarchy,  may  be  applied  with  equal  truth  to  those  of  the 
Rajput  Seven  States  :  ^  "  they  aboimd  in  names,  but  are  extremely 
barren  of  events  ;  or  they  are  related  so  much  without  circum- 
stances and  causes,  that  the  most  profound  and  eloquent  writer 
must  despair  [xi]  of  rendering  them  either  instructive  or  enter- 
taining to  the  reader.  The  monks  "  (for  which  we  may  read 
"  Brahmans  "),  "  who  hved  remote  from  public  affairs,  considered 
the  civil  transactions  as  subservient  to  the  ecclesiastical,  and  were 
strongly  affected  with  credulity,  with  the  love  of  wonder,  and 
with  a  propensity  to  imposture." 

The  heroic  poems  of  India  constitute  another  resource  for 
history.  Bards  may  be  regarded  as  the  primitive  historians  of 
mankind.  Before  fiction  began  to  engross  the  attention  of  poets, 
or  rather,  before  the  province  of  liistory  was  dignified  by  a  class 
of  writers  who  made  it  a  distinct  department  of  literature,  the 
1  Mewar,  Marwar,  Amber,  Bikaner,  Jaisalmer,  Kotah,  and  Bundi. 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  lix 

functions  of  the  bard  were  doubtless  employed  in  recording  real 
events  and  in  commemorating  real  personages.  In  India  Calliope 
has  been  worshipped  by  the  bards  from  the  days  of  Vyasa,  the 
contemporary  of  Job,  to  the  time  of  Benidasa,  the  present 
chronicler  of  Mewar.  The  poets  are  the  chief,  though  not  the 
sole,  historians  of  Western  India  ;  neither  is  there  any  deficiency 
of  them,  though  they  speak  in  a  peculiar  tongue,  which  requires 
to  be  translated  into  the  sober  language  of  probability.  To 
compensate  for  their  magniloquence  and  obscurity,  their  pen  is 
free  :  the  despotism  of  the  Rajput  princes  does  not  extend  to  the 
poet's  lay,  wliich  flows  unconfined  except  by  the  shackles  of  the 
chand  bhujanga^  or  '  serpentine  stanza  '  ;  no  slight  restraint,  it 
must  be  confessed,  upon  the  freedom  of  the  historic  muse.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  is  a  sort  of  compact  or  understanding 
between' the  bard  and  the  prince,  a  barter  of  "solid  pudding 
against  empty  praise,"  whereby  the  fidelity  of  the  poetic  chronicle 
is  somewhat  impaired.  This  sale  of  "  fame,"  as  the  bards  term 
it,  by  the  court-laureates  and  historiographers  of  Rajasthan,  will 
continue  until  there  shall  arise  in  the  community  a  class  sufficiently 
enlightened  and  independent,  to  look  for  no  other  recompense 
for  literary  labour  than  public  distinction. 

Still,  however,  these  chroniclers  dare  utter  truths,  sometimes 
most  [xii]  unpalatable  to  their  masters.  When  offended,  or 
actuated  by  a  virtuous  indignation  against  immorality,  they  are 
fearless  of  consequences  ;  and  woe  to  the  individual  who  provokes 
them  !  Many  a  resolution  has  sunk  under  the  lash  of  their  satire, 
which  has  condemned  to  eternal  ridicule  names  that  might  other- 
wise have  escaped  notoriety.  The  vish,  or  poison  of  the  bard, 
is  more  dreaded  by  the  Rajput  than  the  steel  of  the  foe. 

The  absence  of  all  mystery  or  reserve  with  regard  to  public 
affairs  in  the  Rajput  principalities,  in  which  every  individual 
takes  an  interest,  from  the  noble  to  the  porter  at  the  city-gates, 
is  of  great  advantage  to  the  chronicler  of  events.  When  matters 
of  moment  in  the  disorganized  state  of  the  country  rendered  it 
imperative  to  observe  secrecy,  the  Rana  of  Mewar,  being  applied 
to  on  the  necessity  of  concealing  them,  rejoined  as  follows  : 
"  this  is  Chaumukha-raj  ;  ^  Eklinga  the  sovereign,  I  his  vicegerent ; 
in  liini  I  trust,  and  I  have  no  secrets  from  my  children."     To  this 

^  '  Government  of  four  mouths,'  alluding  to  the  quadriform  image  of 
the  tutelary  divinity. 


Ix  AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

publicity  may  be  partly  ascribed  the  inefficiency  of  every  general 
alliance  against  common  foes  ;  but  it  gives  a  kind  of  patriarchal 
character  to  the  government,  and  inspires,  if  not  loyalty  and 
patriotism  in  their  most  exalted  sense,  feelings  at  least  much  akin 
to  them. 

A  material  drawback  upon  the  value  of  these  bardic  histories 
is,  that  they  are  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  martial 
exploits  of  their  heroes,  and  to  the  rang-ran-hhum,  or  '  field  of 
slaughter.'  Writing  for  the  amusement  of  a  warlike  race,  the 
authors  disregard  civil  matters  and  the  arts  and  pursuits  of 
peaceful  life  ;  love  and  war  are  their  favourite  themes.  Chand, 
the  last  of  the  great  bards  of  India,  tells  us,  indeed,  in  his  preface, 
"  that  he  will  give  rules  for  governing  empires  ;  the  laws  of 
grammar  and  composition  ;  lessons  in  diplomacy,  home  and 
foreign,  etc."  :  and  he  fulfils  his  promise,  by  interspersing  precepts 
on  these  points  in  various  ejiisodes  throughout  his  work  [xiii]. 

Again  :  the  bard,  although  he  is  admitted  to  the  knowledge 
of  all  the  secret  springs  which  direct  each  measure  of  the  govern- 
ment, enters  too  deeply  into  the  intrigues,  as  well  as  the  levities, 
of  the  court,  to  be  qualified  to  pronounce  a  sober  judgment  upon 
its  acts. 

Nevertheless,  although  open  to  all  these  objections,  the  works 
of  the  native  bards  afford  many  valuable  data,  in  facts,  incidents, 
religious  opinions,  and  traits  of  manners  ;  many  of  which,  being 
carelessly  introduced,  are  thence  to  be  regarded  as  the  least 
suspicious  kind  of  historical  evidence  In  the  heroic  history  of 
Prithiraj,  by  Chand,  there  occur  many  geogTaphical  as  well  as 
historical  details,  in  the  description  of  his  sovereign's  wars,  of 
which  the  bard  was  an  eye-witness,  having  been  his  friend,  his 
herald,  his  ambassador,  and  finally  discharging  the  melancholy 
office  of  accessory  to  his  death,  that  he  might  save  him  from 
dishonour.  The  poetical  histories  of  Chand  were  collected  by  the 
great  Amra  Singh  of  Mewar,  a  patron  of  literature,  as  well  as  a 
warrior  and  a  legislator.^ 

Another  species  of  historical  records  is  found  in  the  accoimts 
given  by  the  Brahmans  of  the  endowments  of  the  temples,  their 
dilapidation  and  repairs,  wliich  furnish  occasions  for  the  introduc- 
tion  of  historical   and   chronological   details.     In  the   legends, 

^  [Only  portions  of  the  Chand-raesa  or  Prithiraj  Raesa  have  been  trans- 
lated (Smith,  EHI,  387,  note ;  lA,  i.  269  ff.,  iii.  17  ff.,  xxxii.  167  f.] 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  Ixi 

respecting  places  of  pilgrimage  and  religious  resort,  profane  events 
are  blended  with  superstitious  rites  and  ordinances,  local  cere- 
monies and  customs.  The  controversies  of  the  Jains  furnish, 
also,  much  historical  information,  especially  with  reference  to 
Gujarat  and  Nahrwala,  during  the  Chaulukya  dynasty.  From 
a  close  and  attentive  examination  of  the  Jain  records,  which 
embody  all  that  those  ancient  sectarians  knew  of  science,  many 
chasms  in  Hindu  history  might  be  filled  up.  The  party-spirit  of 
the  rival  sects  of  India  was,  doubtless,  adverse  to  the  purity  of 
history  ;  and  the  very  ground  upon  which  the  Brahmans  built 
their  ascendency  was  the  ignorance  of  the  people.  There  appears 
to  have  been  in  India  [xiv],  as  well  as  in  Egypt  in  early  times, 
a  coalition  between  the  hierarchy  and  the  state,  with  the  view  of 
keeping  the  mass  of  the  nation  in  darkness  and  subjugation. 

These  different  records,  works  of  a  mixed  historical  and  geo- 
graphical character  which  I  know  to  exist ;  raesas  or  poetical 
legends  of  princes,  which  are  common  ;  local  Puranas,  religious 
comments,  and  traditionary  couplets  ;  ^  with  authorities  of  a  less 
dubious  character,  namely,  inscriptions  '  cut  on  the  rock,'  coins, 
copper-plate  grants,  containing  charters  of  immunities,  and  ex- 
pressing many  singular  features  of  civil  government,  constitute, 
as  I  have  already  observed,  no  despicable  materials  for  the 
historian,  who  would,  moreover,  be  assisted  by  the  synchronisms 
which  are  capable  of  being  established  with  ancient  Pagan  and 
later  Muhammadan  writers. 

From  the  earliest  period  of  my  official  connexion  with  this 
interesting  country,  I  applied  myself  to  collect  and  explore  its 
early  historical  records,  with  a  ^^ew  of  throwing  some  light  upon 
a  people  scarcely  yet  known  in  Europe  and  whose  political  con- 
nexion with  England  appeared  to  me  to  be  capable  of  undergoing 
a  material  change,  with  benefit  to  both  parties.  It  would  be 
wearisome  to  the  reader  to  be  minutely  informed  of  the  process  I 
adopted,  to  collect  the  scattered  rehcs  of  Rajput  history  into  the 
form  and  substance  in  which  he  now  sees  them.  I  began  with  the 
sacred  genealogy  from  the  Puranas  ;  examined  the  Mahabharata, 

1  Some  of  these  preserve  the  names  of  princes  who  invaded  India  between 
the  time  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  and  Shihabu-d-din,  who  are  not  mentioned 
by  Ferishta,  the  Muhammadan  historian.  The  invasion  of  Ajmer  and  the 
capture  of  Bayana,  the  seat  of  the  Yadu  princes,  were  made  known  to  us 
by  this  means. 


Ixii  AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

and  the  poems  of  Chand  (a  complete  chronicle  of  his  times)  ; 
the  voluminous  historical  poems  of  Jaisalmer,  Marwar,  and 
Mewar  ;  ^  the  histories  of  the  Khichis,  and  those  of  the  Hara 
princes  [xv]  of  Kotah  and  Bundi,  etc.,  by  their  respective  bards. 
A  portion  of  the  materials  compiled  by  Jai  Singh  of  Amber  or 
Jaipur  (one  of  the  greatest  patrons  of  science  amongst  the  modern 
Hindu  princes),  to  illustrate  the  history  of  his  race,  fell  into  my 
hands.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  existed  more  copious 
materials,  which  his  profligate  descendant,  the  late  prince,  in 
his  division  of  the  empire  with  a  prostitute,  may  have  disposed 
of  on  the  partition  of  the  library  of  the  State,  which  was  the  finest 
collection  in  Rajasthan.  Like  some  of  the  renowned  princes  of 
Timur's  dynasty,  Jai  Singh  kept  a  diary,  termed  Kalpadruma,  in 
which  he  noted  every  event  :  a  work  written  by  such  a  man  and 
at  such  an  interesting  juncture,  would  be  a  valuable  acquisition 
to  history.  From  the  Datia  prince  I  obtained  a  transcript  of  the 
journal  of  his  ancestor,  who  served  with  such  eclat  amongst  the 
great  feudatories  of  Aurangzeb's  army,  and  from  which  Scott  made 
many  extracts  in  his  history  of  the  Deccan. 

For  a  period  of  ten  years  I  was  employed,  with  the  aid  of  a 
learned  Jain,  in  ransacking  every  work  which  could  contribute 
any  facts  or  incidents  to  the  history  of  the  Rajputs,  or  diffuse 
any  light  upon  their  manners  and  character.  Extracts  and 
versions  of  all  such  passages  were  made  by  my  Jain  assistant  into 
the  more  familiar  dialects  (which  are  formed  frona  the  Sanskrit) 
of  these  tribes,  in  whose  language  my  long  residence  amongst 
them  enabled  me  to  converse  with  facility.  At  much  expense, 
and  during  many  wearisome  hours,  to  support  which  required 
no  ordinary  degree  of  enthusiasm,  I  endeavoured  to  possess 
myself  not  merely  of  their  history,  but  of  their  religious  notions, 
their   familiar   opinions,    and   their   characteristic   manners,    by 

^  Of  Marwar,  there  were  the  Vijaya  Vilas,  the  Surya  Prakas,  and  Khyat, 
or  legends,  besides  detached  fragments  of  reigns.  Of  Mewar,  there  was  the 
Khuman  Raesa,  a  modem  work  formed  from  old  materials  which  are  lost, 
and  commencing  with  the  attack  of  Chitor  by  Mahmud,  supposed  to  be  the 
son  of  Kasim  of  Siiid,  in  tlie  very  earliest  ages  of  Muhammadanisni  :  also 
the  Jagat  Vilas,  tlic  Raj -prakas,  and  the  Jaya  Vilas,  all  poems  composed  in 
the  reigns  of  the  princes  whose  names  they  bear,  but  generally  introducing 
succinctly  the  early  parts  of  history.  Besides  these,  there  were  fragments 
of  the  Jaipur  family,  from  their  archives  ;  and  the  Man  Charilra,  or  history 
of  Raja  Man. 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  Ixiii 

associating  with  their  chiefs  and  bardic  chroniclers,  and  by  listen- 
ing to  their  traditionary  tales  and  allegorical  poems.  I  might 
ultimately,  as  the  circle  of  my  [xvi]  inquiries  enlarged,  have 
materially  augmented  my  knowledge  of  these  subjects  ;  but  ill- 
health  compelled  me  to  relinquish  this  pleasing  though  toilsome 
pursuit,  and  forced  me  to  revisit  my  native  land  just  as  I  had 
obtained  permission  to  look  across  the  threshold  of  the  Hindu 
Minerva  ;  whence,  however,  I  brought  some  relics,  the  examina- 
tion of  which  I  now  consign  to  other  hands.  The  large  collection 
of  ancient  Sanskrit  and  Bhakha  MSS.,  which  I  conveyed  to 
England,  have  been  presented  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  in 
whose  library  they  are  deposited.  The  contents  of  many,  still 
unexamined,  may  throw  additional  light  on  the  history  of  ancient 
India.  I  claim  only  the  merit  of  having  brought  them  to  the 
knowledge  of  European  scholars  ;  but  I  may  hope  that  this  will 
furnish  a  stimulus  to  others  to  make  similar  exertions. 

The  little  exact  knowledge  that  Europe  has  hitherto  acquired 
of  the  Rajput  States,  has  probably  originated  a  false  idea  of  the 
comparative  importance  of  this  portion  of  Hindustan.  The 
splendour  of  the  Rajput  courts,  however,  at  an  early  period  of 
the  history  of  that  country,  making  every  allowance  for  the 
exaggeration  of  the  bards,  must  have  been  great.  Northern 
India  was  rich  from  the  earUest  times  ;  that  portion  of  it,  situated 
on  either  side  the  Indus,  formed  the  richest  satrapy  of  Darius. 
It  has  aboiuided  in  the  more  striking  events  which  constitute 
the  materials  for  history  ;  there  is  not  a  petty  State  in  Rajasthan 
that  has  not  had  its  Thermopylae,  and  scarcely  a  city  that  has  not 
produced  its  Leonidas.  But  the  mantle  of  ages  has  shrouded 
from  view  what  the  magic  pen  of  the  historian  might  have  con- 
secrated to  endless  admiration  :  Somnath  might  have  rivalled 
Delphos  ;  the  spoils  of  Hind  might  have  vied  with  the  wealth 
of  the  Libyan  king  ;  and  compared  with  the  array  of  the  Pandus, 
the  army  of  Xerxes  would  have  dwindled  into  insignificance.  But 
the  Hindus  either  never  had,  or  have  unfortunately  lost,  their 
Herodotus  and  Xenophon. 

If  "  the  moral  effect  of  history  depend  on  the  sympathy  it 
excites"  [xvii],  the  annals  of  these  States  possess  commanding 
interest.  The  struggles  of  a  brave  people  for  independence 
during  a  series  of  ages,  sacrificing  whatever  was  dear  to  them  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  religion  of  their  forefathers,  and  sturdily 


Ixiv  AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

defending  to  death,  and  in  spite  of  every  temptation,  their  rights 
and  national  hberty,  form  a  picture  which  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
template without  emotion.  Could  I  impart  to  the  reader  but 
a  small  portion  of  the  enthusiastic  delight  with  which  I  have 
listened  to  the  tales  of  times  that  are  past,  amid  scenes  where 
their  events  occurred,  I  should  not  despair  of  triumphing  over  the 
apathy  which  dooms  to  neglect  almost  every  effort  to  enlighten 
my  native  country  on  the  subject  of  India  ;  nor  should  I  appre- 
hend any  ill  effect  from  the  sound  of  names,  which,  musical  and 
expressive  as  they  are  to  a  Hindu,  are  dissonant  and  unmeaning 
to  a  European  ear  :  for  it  should  be  remembered  that  almost 
every  Eastern  name  is  significant  of  some  quality,  personal  or 
mental.  Seated  amidst  the  ruins  of  ancient  cities,  I  have  listened 
to  the  traditions  respecting  their  fall  ;  or  have  heard  the  exploits 
of  their  illustrious  defenders  related  by  their  descendants  near  the 
altars  erected  to  their  memory.  I  have,  whilst  in  the  train  of 
the  southern  Goths  (the  Mahrattas),  as  they  carried  desolation 
over  the  land,  encamped  on  or  traversed  many  a  field  of  battle, 
of  civil  strife  or  foreign  aggression,  to  read  in  the  rude  memorials 
on  the  tumuli  of  the  slain  their  names  and  history.  Such  anecdotes 
and  records  afford  data  of  history  as  well  as  of  manners.  Even 
the  couplet  recording  the  erection  of  a  '  column  of  victory,'  or 
of  a  temple  or  its  repairs,  contributes  something  to  our  stock  of 
knowledge  of  the  past. 

As  far  as  regards  the  antiquity  of  the  djmasties  now  ruling  in 
Central  and  Western  India,  there  are  but  two  the  origin  of  which 
is  not  perfectly  within  the  limits  of  historical  probability  ;  the 
rest  ha\nng  owed  their  present  establishments  to  the  progress  of 
the  Muslim  arms,  their  annals  are  confirmed  by  those  of  their 
conquerors.  All  the  existing  [xviii]  families,  indeed,  have  attained 
their  present  settlements  subsequently  to  the  Muhammadan 
invasions,  except  Mewar,  Jaisalmer,  and  some  smaller  princi- 
pahtics  in  the  desert  ;  whilst  others  of  the  first  magnitude,  such 
as  the  Pramara  and  Solanki,  who  ruled  at  Dhar  and  Anhilwara, 
have  for  centuries  ceased  to  exist. 

I  have  been  so  hardy  as  to  affirm  and  endeavour  to  prove  the 
common  origin  of  the  martial  tribes  of  Rajasthan  and  those  of 
ancient  Europe.  I  have  expatiated  at  some  length  upon  the 
evidence  in  favour  of  the  existence  of  a  feudal  system  in  India, 
similar  to  that  which  prevailed  in  the  early  ages  on  the  European 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  Ixv 

continent,  and  of  which  reUcs  still  remain  in  the  laws  of  our  own 
natipn.  Hypotheses  of  this  kind  are,  I  am  aware,  viewed  with 
suspicion,  and  sometimes  assailed  with  ridicule.  With  regard  to 
the  notions  which  I  have  developed  on  these  questions,  and  the 
frequent  allusions  to  them  in  the  pages  of  this  volume,  I  entertain 
no  obstinate  prepossessions  or  prejudices  in  their  favour.  The 
world  is  too  enhghtened  at  the  present  day  to  be  in  danger  of 
being  misled  by  any  hypothetical  writer,  let  him  be  ever  so  skilful  ; 
but  the  probability  is,  that  we  have  been  induced,  by  the  multitude 
of  false  theories  which  time  has  exposed,  to  fall  into  the  opposite 
error,  and  that  we  have  become  too  sceptical  with  regard  to  the 
common  origin  of  the  people  of  the  east  and  west.  However,  I 
submit  my  proofs  to  the  candid  judgment  of  the  world  ;  the 
analogies,  if  not  conclusive  on  the  questions,  are  still  sufficiently 
curious  and  remarkable  to  repay  the  trouble  of  perusal  and 
to  provoke  further  investigation  ;  and  they  may,  it  is  hoped, 
vindicate  the  author  for  endeavouring  to  elucidate  the  subject, 
"  by  steering  through  the  dark  channels  of  antiquity  by  the  feeble 
lights  of  forgotten  chronicles  and  imperfect  records." 

I  am  conscious  that  there  is  much  in  this  work  which  demands 
the  indulgence  of  the  public  ;  and  I  trust  it  will  not  be  necessary 
for  me  to  assign  a  more  powerful  argument  in  plea  than  that 
which  I  have  already  [xix]  adverted  to,  namely,  the  state  of  my 
health,  which  has  rendered  it  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty, 
indeed  I  may  say  of  risk,  to  bring  my  bulky  materials  even  into 
their  present  imperfect  form.  I  should  observe,  that  it  never 
was  my  intention  to  treat  the  subject  in  the  severe  style  of  history, 
which  would  have  excluded  many  details  useful  to  the  politician 
as  well  as  to  the  curious  student.  I  offer  this  work  as  a  copious 
collection  of  materials  for  the  future  historian  ;  and  am  far  less 
concerned  at  the  idea  of  giving  too  much,  than  at  the  apprehension 
of  suppressing  what  might  possibly  be  useful. 

I  cannot  close  these  remarks  without  expressing  my  obligations 
to  my  friend  and  kinsman,  Major  Waugh,  to  the  genius  of  whose 
pencil  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  preservation  and  transmission 
of  the  splendid  monuments  of  art  which  adorn  this  work. 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 
SECOND  VOLUME  OF  THE  ORIGI- 
NAL EDITION 

In  placing  before  the  public  the  concluding  volume  of  the  Annals 
of  Rajputana  I  have  fulfilled  what  I  considered  to  be  a  sacred 
obligation  to  the  races  amongst  whom  I  have  passed  the  better 
portion  of  my  life  ;  and  although  no  man  can  more  highly 
appreciate  public  approbation,  I  am  far  less  eager  to  court  that 
approbation  than  to  awaken  a  sympathy  for  the  objects  of  my 
work,  the  interesting  people  of  Rajputana, 

I  need  add  nothing  to  what  was  urged  in  the  Introduction  to 
the  First  Volume  on  the  subject  of  Indian  History  ;  and  trust 
that,  however  slight  the  analogy  between  the  chronicles  of  the 
Hindus  and  those  of  Europe,  as  historical  works,  they  will  serve 
to  banish  the  reproach,  which  India  has  so  long  laboured  under, 
of  possessing  no  records  of  past  events  :  my  only  fear  now  is, 
that  they  may  be  thought  redundant. 

I  think  I  may  confidently  affirm,  that  whoever,  without  being 
alarmed  at  their  bulk,  has  the  patience  attentively  to  peruse  these 
Annals,  cannot  fail  to  become  well  acquainted  with  all  the  peculiar 
features  of  Hindu  society,  and  will  be  enabled  to  trace  the  founda- 
tion and  progress  of  each  State  in  Rajputana,  as  well  as  to  form 
a  just  notion  of  the  character  of  a  people,  upon  whom,  at  a  future 
period,  our  existence  in  India  may  depend. 

Whatever  novelty  the  inquirer  into  the  origin  of  nations  may 
find  in  these  [viii]  pages,  I  am  ambitious  to  claim  for  them  a 
higher  title  than  a  mass  of  mere  archaeological  data.  To  see 
humanity  under  every  aspect,  and  to  observe  the  influence  of 
different  creeds  upon  man  in  his  social  capacity,  must  ever  be  one 

Ixvii 


Ixviii  AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  higliest  sources  of  mental  enjoyment ;  and  I  may  hope  that 
the  personal  qualities  herein  delineated,  will  allow  the  labourer 
in  this  vast  field  of  philosophy  to  enlarge  his  sphere  of  acquaint- 
ance with  human  varieties.  In  the  present  circumstances  of  our 
alliance  with  these  States,  every  trait  of  national  character,  and 
even  every  traditional  incident,  which,  by  leading  us  to  understand 
and  respect  their  peculiarities,  may  enable  us  to  secure  their 
friendship  and  esteem,  become  of  infinite  importance.  The  more 
we  study  their  history,  the  better  shall  we  comprehend  the  causes 
of  their  international  quarrels,  the  origin  of  their  tributary  engage- 
ments, the  secret  principles  of  their  mutual  repulsion,  and  the 
sources  of  their  strength  and  their  weakness  as  an  aggregate  body  : 
without  which  knowledge  it  is  impossible  we  can  arbitrate  with 
justice  in  their  national  disputes  ;  and,  as  respects  ourselves,  we 
may  convert  a  means  of  defence  into  a  source  of  bitter  hostility. 

It  has  been  my  aim  to  diversify  as  much  as  possible  the  details 
of  this  volume.  In  the  Annals  of  Marwar  I  have  traced  the 
conquest  and  peopling  of  an  immense  region  by  a  handful  of 
strangers  ;  and  have  dwelt,  perhaps,  with  tedious  minuteness 
on  the  long  reign  of  Raja  Ajit  Singh  and  the  Thirty  Years'  War ; 
to  show  what  the  energy  of  one  of  these  petty  States,  impelled  by 
a  sense  of  oppression,  effected  against  the  colossal  power  of  its 
enemies.  It  is  a  portion  of  their  history  which  should  be  deeply 
studied  by  those  who  have  succeeded  to  the  paramount  power  ; 
for  Aurangzeb  had  less  reason  to  distrust  the  stability  of  his 
dominion  than  we  have  :  yet  what  is  now  the  house  of  Timur  ? 
The  resources  of  Marwar  were  reduced  to  as  low  an  ebb  at  the  close 
of  Aurangzeb's  reign,  as  they  are  at  the  present  time  ;  yet  did 
that  [ix]  State  surmount  all  its  difficulties,  and  bring  armies  into 
the  field  that  annihilated  the  forces  of  the  empire.  I,,et  us  not, 
then,  mistake  the  supineness  engendered  by  long  oppression,  for 
want  of  feeling,  nor  mete  out  to  these  high-spirited  people  the 
same  measure  of  contumely,  with  which  we  have  treated  the 
subjects  of  our  earlier  conquests. 

The  Annals  of  the  Bhattis  may  be  considered  as  the  link  connect- 
ing the  tribes  of  India  Proper  with  the  ancient  races  west  of  the  Indus, 
or  Indo-Scythia  ;  and  although  they  will  but  slightly  interest  the 
general  reader,  the  antiquary  may  find  in  them  many  new  topics 
for  investigation,  as  well  as  in  the  Sketch  of  the  Desert,  which  has 
preserved  the  relics  of  names  that  once  promised  immortality. 


AUTHOR'S  INTRODUCTION  Ixix 

Tlie  patriarchal  simplicity  of  the  Jat  communities,  upon  whose 
ruins  the  State  of  Bikaner  was  founded,  affords  a  picture,  however 
imperfect,  of  petty  republics — a  form  of  government  little  known 
to  eastern  despotism,  and  proving  the  tenacity  of  the  ancient 
Gete's  attachment  to  hberty. 

Amber,  and  its  scion  Shaikhavati,  possess  a  still  greater  interest 
from  their  contiguity  to  our  frontier.  A  multitude  of  singular 
privileges  is  attached  to  the  Shaikhavati  federation,  wliich  it 
behoves  the  paramount  power  thorouglily  to  understand,  lest  it 
should  be  led  by  false  views  to  pursue  a  policy  detrimental  to 
them  as  well  as  to  ourselves.  To  this  extensive  community 
belong  the  Larkhanis,  so  utterly  imknown  to  us,  that  a  recent 
internal  tumult  of  that  tribe  was  at  first  mistaken  for  an  irruption 
of  our  old  enemies,  the  Pindaris. 

Haraoti  may  claim  our  regard  from  the  high  bearing  of  its 
gallant  race,  the  Haras  ;  and  the  singular  character  of  the  in- 
dividual with  whose  biography  its  history  closes,  and  which 
cannot  fail  to  impart  juster  notions  of  the  genius  of  Asiatics  [x]. 

So  much  for  the  matter  of  this  volume — with  regard  to  the 
manner,  as  the  Rajputs  abhor  all  jileas  ad  misericordiam,  so  like- 
wise does  their  annalist,  who  begs  to  repeat,  in  order  to  deprecate 
a  standard  of  criticism  inapplicable  to  this  performance,  that  it 
professes  not  to  be  constructed  on  exact  historical  principles  : 
Non  historia,  sed  particulae  historiae. 

In  conclusion.  I  adopt  the  peroration  of  the  ingenuous,  pious, 
and  liberal  Abu-1  Fazl,  when  completing  his  History  of  the  Provinces 
of  India  ;  "  Praise  be  unto  God,  that  by  the  assistance  of  his 
Divine  Grace,  I  have  completed  the  History  of  the  Rajputs. 
The  accovmt  cost  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  collecting,  and  I 
found  such  difficulty  in  ascertaining  dates,  and  in  reconcihng  the 
contradictions  in  the  several  histories  of  the  Princes  of  Rajputana, 
that  I  had  nearly  resolved  to  relinquish  the  task  altogether  :  but 
who  can  resist  the  decrees  of  Fate  ?  I  trust  that  those,  who  have 
been  able  to  obtain  better  information,  will  not  dwell  upon  my 
errors  ;  but  that  upon  the  whole  I  may  meet  with  approbation."  ' 

1  [Atn,  ii.  418.] 

York  Place,  Portman  Square, 
March  10,  1832. 


i 


ANNALS   AND  ANTIQUITIES 
OF    RAJASTHAN 

BOOK  I 

GEOGRAPHY   OF  RAJASTHAN   OR   RAJPUTANA 

Boundaries  of  Rajputana. — Rajasthan  is  the  collective  and  classi- 
cal denomination  of  that  portion  of  India  which  is  '  the  abode  ^ 
of  (Rajput)  princes.'  In  the  familiar  dialect  of  these  countries 
it  is  termed  Rajwara,  but  by  the  more  refined  Raethana,  corrupted 
to  Rajputana,  the  common  designation  amongst  the  British  to 
denote  the  Rajput  principalities. 

\Miat  might  have  been  the  nominal  extent  of  Rajasthan  prior 
to  the  Muhammadan  conqueror  Shihabu-d-din  (when  it  probably- 
reached  beyond  the  Jumna  and  Ganges,  even  to  the  base  of  the 
Himalaya)  cannot  now  be  known.  At  present  we  may  adhere  to 
its  restrictive  definition,  still  comprehending  a  wide  space  and  a 
variety  of  interesting  races. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  minor  Muhammadan  monarchies 
of  ^landu  and  Ahmadabad  (the  capitals  of  Malwa  and  Gujarat), 
on  the  ruins  of  Dhar  and  Anhilwara  Patan,  the  term  Rajasthan 
would  have  been  appropriated  to  the  space  comprehended  in  the 
map  prefixed  to  this  work  :  the  valley  of  the  Indus  on  the  west, 
and  Bundelkhand  ^  on  the  east ;  to  the  north,  the  sandy  tracts 
(south  of  the  Sutlej)  termed  Jangaldes  ;  and  the  Vindhya  moun- 
tains to  the  south. 

^  Or  '  regal  (raj)  dwelling  (than).' 

*  It  is  rather  singular  that  the  Sind  River  wiU  mark  this  eastern  boundary, 
a.s  does  the  Indus  (or  great  Sind)  that  to  the  west.  East  of  this  minor  Sind 
the  Hindu  princes  are  not  of  pure  blood,  and  are  excluded  from  Rajasthan 
or  Rajwara. 

VOL.  I  B 


2  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

This  space  comprehends  nearly  8°  of  latitude  and  9°  of  longi- 
tude, being  from  22°  to  30°  north  latitude,  and  69°  to  78°  east 
longitude,  embracing  a  superficial  area  of  350,000  square  miles  ^  [2]. 

Although  it  is  proposed  to  touch  upon  the  annals  of  all  the 
States  in  this  extensive  tract,  with  their  past  and  present  condi- 
tion, those  in  the  centre  will  claim  the  most  prominent  regard  ; 
especially  Mewar,  which,  copiously  treated  of,  will  afford  a 
specimen,  obviating  the  necessity  of  like  details  of  the  rest. 

The  States  of  Rajputana. — The  order  in  which  these  States  will 
be  reviewed  is  as  follows  : 

1.  Mewar,  or  Udaipur. 

2.  Marwar,  or  Jodhpur. 

3.  Bikaner  and  Kishangarh. 

4.  Kotah^       __ 

I-    T-.      T    or  Haraoti. 

5.  BundiJ 

6.  Amber,  or  Jaipur,  with  its  branches,  dependent  and 

independent, 

7.  Jaisalmer. 

8.  The  Indian  desert  to  the  valley  of  the  Indus. 

History  o£  Geographical  Surveys. — The  basis  of  this  work  is 
the  geography  of  the  country,  the  historical  and  statistical  por- 
tion being  consequent  and  subordinate  thereto.  It  was,  indeed, 
originally  designed  to  be  essentially  geographical ;  but  circum- 
stances have  rendered  it  impossible  to  execute  the  intended 
details,  or  even  to  make  the  map  *  so  perfect  as  the  superabxmdant 
material  at  the  command  of  the  author  might  have  enabled  him 
to  do  ;  a  matter  of  regret  to  himself  rather  than  of  loss  to  the 
general  reader,  to  whom  geographic  details,  however  important, 
arc  usually  dry  and  uninteresting. 

It  was  also  intended  to  institute  a  comparison  between  the 
map  and  such  remains  of  ancient  geography  as  can  be  extracted 
from  the  Puranas  and  other  Hindu  authorities  ;  which,  however, 
must  be  deferred  to  a  future  period,  when  the  deficiency  of  the 

^  [Rajputana,  as  now  officially  defined,  lies  between  lat.  23°  3'  and  30°  12' 
N.,  and  long.  69°  30'  and  78°  17'  E.,  the  total  area,  according  to  the  Census 
Report,  1911,  including  Ajmer-Merwara,  being  131,698  square  miles.] 

^  Engraved  by  that  meritorious  artist  Mr.  Walker,  engraver  to  the  East 
India  Company,  who,  I  trust,  will  be  able  to  make  a  fuller  use  of  my  materials 
hereafter.     [This  has  been  replaced  by  a  modern  map.] 


PREVIOUS  SURVEYS  3 

present  rapid  and  general  sketch  may  be  supplied,  should  the 
author  be  enabled  to  resume  his  labours. 

The  laborious  research,  in  the  course  of  which  these  data  were 
accumulated,  commenced  in  1806.  when  the  author  was  attached 
to  the  embassy  sent,  at  the  close  of  the  Mahratta  wars,  to  the 
court  of  Sindhia.  This  chieftain's  army  was  then  in  Mewar,  at 
that  period  almost  a  terra  incognita,  the  position  of  whose  two 
capitals,  Udaipur  and  Chitor,  in  the  best  existing  maps,  was  pre- 
cisely reversed  [3]  ;  that  is,  Chitor  was  inserted  S.E.  of  Udaipur 
instead  of  E.N.E.,  a  proof  of  the  scanty  knowledge  possessed  at 
that  period. 

In  other  respects  there  was  almost  a  total  blank.  In  the  maps 
prior  to  1806  nearly  all  the  western  and  central  States  of  Rajasthan 
will  be  found  wanting.  It  had  been  imagined,  but  a  little  time 
before,  that  the  rivers  had  a  southerly  course  into  the  Nerbudda ; 
a  notion  corrected  by  the  father  of  Indian  geography,  the  distin- 
guished Rennell.^ 

This  blank  the  author  filled  up  ;  and  in  1815,  for  the  first 
time,  the  geography  of  Rajasthan  was  put  into  combined  form 
and  presented  to  the  Marquess  of  Hastings,  on  the  eve  of  a  general 
war,  when  the  labour  of  ten  years  was  amply  rewarded  by  its 
becoming  in  part  the  foundation  of  that  illustrious  commander's 
plans  of  the  campaign.  It  is  a  duty  owing  to  himself  to  state  that 
every  map,  without  exception,  printed  since  this  period  has  its 
foundation,  as  regards  Central  and  Western  India,  in  the  labours 
of  the  author.^ 

1  [James  Uennell,  1742-1830.] 

^  When  the  war  of  1817  broke  out,  copies  of  my  map  on  a  reduced  scale 
were  sent  to  all  the  divisions  of  the  armies  in  the  field,  and  came  into  posses- 
sion of  many  of  the  staff.  Transcripts  were  made  which  were  brought  to 
Europe,  and  portions  introduced  into  every  recent  map  of  India.  One  map 
has,  indeed,  been  given,  in  a  manner  to  induce  a  supposition  that  the 
furnisher  of  the  materials  was  the  author  of  them.  It  has  fulfilled  a  pre- 
diction of  the  Marquess  of  Hastings,  who,  foreseeing  the  impossibility  of 
such  materials  remaining  private  property,  "  and  the  danger  of  their  being 
appropriated  by  others,"  and  desirous  that  the  author  should  derive  the 
full  advantage  of  his  labours,  had  it  signified  that  the  claims  for  recompense, 
on  the  records  of  successive  governments,  should  not  be  deferred.  It  will 
not  be  inferred  the  author  is  surprised  at  what  he  remarks.  While  he 
claims  priority  for  himself,  lie  is  the  last  person  to  wish  to  see  a  halt  in 
science — 

"  For  emulation  has  a  thousand  sons." 


4  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

The  Author's  Surveys. — The  route  of  the  embassy  was  from 
Agra,  through  the  southern  frontier  of  Jaipur  to  Udaipur.  A 
portion  of  this  had  been  surveyed  and  points  laid  down  from 
celestial  observation,  by  Dr.  W.  Hunter,  which  I  adopted  as  the 
basis  of  my  enterprise.  The  Resident  Envoy  ^  to  the  court  of 
Sindhia  was  possessed  of  the  valuable  sketch  of  the  route  of 
Colonel  Palmer's  embassy  in  1791,  as  laid  down  by  Dr.  Hunter,  the 
foundation  of  my  subsequent  surveys,  as  it  merited  from  its  im- 
portance and  general  accuracy.  It  embraced  all  the  extreme 
points  of  Central  India  :  Agra,  Narwar,  Datia,  Jhansi,  Bhopal, 
.Sarangpur,  Ujjain,  and  on  return  from  this,  the  first  meridian  of 
the  Hindus,  by  Kotah;  Bundi,  Rampura  (Tonk),  Bayana,  to 
Agra.  The  position  of  all  these  places  was  more  or  less  accurately 
fixed,  according  to  the  time  which  could  be  bestowed,  by  astro- 
nomical observation  [4]. 

At  Rampura  Hunter  ceased  to  be  my  guide  :  and  from  this 
point  commenced  the  new  survey  of  Udaipur,  where  we  arrived 
in  June  1806.  The  position  then  assigned  to  it,  with  most  inade- 
quate instruments,  has  been  changed  only  1 '  of  longitude,  though 
the  latitude  amounted  to  about  5'. 

From  Udaipur  the  subsequent  march  of  the  army  with  which 
we  moved  led  past  the  celebrated  Chitor,  and  through  the  centre 
of  Malwa,  crossing  in  detail  all  the  grand  streams  flowing  from 
the  Vindhya,  till  we  halted  for  a  season  on  the  Bundelkhand 
frontier  at  Khimlasa.  In  this  journey  of  seven  hundred  miles  I 
twice  crossed  the  lines  of  route  of  the  former  embassy,  and  was 
gratified  to  find  my  first  attempts  generally  coincide  with  their 
established  points. 

In  1807,  the  army  having  undertaken  the  siege  of  Rahatgarh, 
I  determined  to  avail  myself  of  the  time  which  Mahrattas  waste 
in  such  a  process,  and  to  pursue  my  favourite  project.  With  a 
small  guard  I  determined  to  push  through  untrodden  fields,  by 
tlte  banks  of  the  Betwa  to  Chanderi,  and  in  its  latitude  proceed 
in  a  westerly  direction  towards  Kotah,  trace  the  course  once  more 
of  all  those  streams  from  the  south,  and  the  points  of  junction 
of  the  most  important  (the  Kali  Sind,  Parbati,  and  Banas)  with 
the  Chambal  ;  and  having  effected  this,  continue  my  journey  to 
Agra.     This   I   accomplished   in   times   very  different   from  the 

^  My  esteemed  friend,  Graeme  Mercer,  Esq.  (of  Maevisbank),  who  stimu- 
lated my  exertions  with  his  approbation. 


THE  AUTHOR'S  SURVEYS  5 

present,  being  often  obliged  to  strike  my  tents  and  march  at  mid- 
night, and  more  than  once  the  object  of  plunder.^  The  chief 
points  in  this  route  were  Khimlasa,  Rajwara,  Kotra  on  the  Betwa, 
Kanyadana,''  Buradungar,*  Shahabad,  Barah,*  Puleta,*  Baroda, 
Sheopur,  Pali,^  Ranthambhor,  Karauli,  Sri  Mathura,  and  Agra. 

On  my  return  to  the  Mahratta  camp  I  resolved  further  to 
increase  the  sphere,  and  proceeded  westward  by  Bharatpur, 
Katumbar,  Sentri,  to  Jaipur,  Tonk,  Indargarh,  Gugal  Chhapra, 
Raghugarh,  Aron,  Kurwai,  Borasa,  to  Sagar  :  a  journey  of  more 
than  one  thousand  miles.     I  found  the  camp  nearly  where  I  left  it. 

With  this  ambulatory  court  I  moved  everywhere  within  this 
region,  constantly  employed  in  surveying  till  1812,  when  Sindhia's 
court  became  stationary.  It  was  then  I  formed  my  plans  for 
obtaining  a  knowledge  of  those  countries  into  which  I  could  not 
personally  penetrate  [5]. 

Survey  Parties. — In  1810-11  I  had  despatched  two  i^arties, 
one  to  the  Indus,  the  other  to  the  desert  south  of  the  Sutlej.  The 
first  party,  under  Shaikh  Abu-1  Barakat,  journeyed  westward, 
by  Udaipur,  through  Gujarat,  Saurashtra  and  Cutch,  Lakhpat  and 
Hyderabad  (the  capital  of  the  Sindi  government)  ;  crossed  the 
Indus  to  Tatta,  proceeded  up  the  right  bank  to  Sehwan  ;  re- 
crossed,  and  continued  on  the  left  bank  as  far  as  lOiairpur,  the 
residence  of  one  of  the  triumvirate  governors  of  Sind,  and  having 
reached  the  insulated  Bakhar '  (the  capital  of  the  Sogdoi  of 
Alexander),  returned  by  the  desert  of  Umrasumra  to  Jaisalmer, 
Marwar,  and  Jaipur,  and  joined  me  in  camp  at  Narwar.     It  was 

^  Many  incidents  in  these  journeys  would  require  no  aid  of  imagination 
to  touch  on  the  romantic,  but  they  can  have  no  place  here. 
^  Eastern  tableland.  ^  Sind  River. 

*  Paibati  River.  .  ^  Kali  Sind  River. 

*  Passage  of  the  Chambal  and  junction  of  the  Par. 

'  The  Shaikh  brought  me  specimens  of  the  rock,  which  is  siliceous  ;  and 
also  a  piece  of  brick  of  the  very  ancient  fortress  of  Sehwan,  and  some  of  the 
grain  from  its  pits,  charred  and  alleged  by  tradition  to  have  lain  there  since 
the  period  of  Raja  Bhartarihari,  the  brother  of  Vikramaditya.  It  is  not 
impossible  that  it  might  be  owing  to  Alexander's  terrific  progress,  and  to 
their  supphes  being  destroyed  by  fire.  Sehwan  is  conjectured  by  Captain 
Pottinger  to  be  the  capital  of  Musicanus.  [The  capital  of  the  Sogdoi  has 
been  identified  with  Alor  or  Aror  ;  but  Cunningham  places  it  between  Alor 
and  Uchh.  The  capital  of  Mousikanos  was  possibly  Alor,  and  Sehwan  the 
Sindimana  of  the  Greeks.  But,  owing  to  changes  in  the  course  of  the 
Lower  Indus,  it  is  very  difiicult  to  identify  ancient  sites  (McCrindle, 
Akxaiider,  157,  354  f.).] 


6  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

a  perilous  undertaking  ;  but  the  Shaikh  was  a  fearless  and  enter- 
prising character,  and  moreover  a  man  with  some  tincture  of 
learning.  His  journals  contained  many  hints  and  directions  for 
future  research  in  the  geography,  statistics,  and  manners  of  the 
various  races  amongst  whom  he  travelled. 

The  other  party  was  conducted  by  a  most  valuable,  man, 
Madari  Lai,  who  became  a  perfect  adept  in  these  expeditions  of 
geographical  discovery,  and  other  knowledge  resulting  therefrom. 
There  is  not  a  district  of  anj^  consequence  in  the  wide  space  before 
the  reader  which  was  not  traversed  by  this  spirited  individual, 
whose  qualifications  for  such  complicated  and  hazardous  journeys 
were  never  excelled.  Ardent,  persevering,  prepossessing,  and 
generally  well-informed,  he  made  his  way  when  others  might  have 
perished.^ 

From  these  remote  regions  the  best-informed  native  inhabitants 
were,  by  persuasion  and  recompense,  conducted  to  me  ;  and  I 
could  at  all  times,  in  the  Mahratta  camp  at  Gwalior,  from  1812 
to  1817,  have  provided  a  native  of  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  the 
deserts  of  Dhat,  Umrasumra,  or  any  of  the  States  of  Rajasthan. 

The  precision  with  which  Kasids  and  other  public  conveyers 
of  letters,  in  countries  where  posts  are  little  used,  can  detail  the 
peculiarities  of  a  long  line  of  route,  and  the  accuracy  of  their 
distances  would  scarcely  be  credited  in  Europe.  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  asserting  that  if  a  correct  estimate  were  obtained 
of  the  measured  [6]  coss  of  a  country,  a  line  might  be  laid  down 
upon  a  flat  surface  with  great  exactitude.  I  have  heard  it 
affirmed  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  old  Hindu  governments 
to  have  measurements  made  of  the  roads  from  town  to  town, 
and  that  the  Abu  Mahatma  ^  contains  a  notice  of  an  instrument 
for  that  purpose.  Indeed,  the  singular  coincidence  between 
lines  measured  by  the  perambulator  and  the  estimated  distances 
of  the  natives  is  the  best  proof  that  the  latter  are  deduced  from 
some  more  certain  method  than  mere  computation. 

I  never  rested  satisfied  with  the  result  of  one  set  of  my  parties, 

^  His  health  was  worn  out  at  length,  and  he  became  the  victim  of  de- 
pressed spirits.  He  died  suddenly  :  I  beUeve  poisoned.  Fateh,  almost  as 
zealous  as  Madari,  also  died  in  the  jmrsuit.  Geography  has  been  destructive 
to  all  who  have  pursued  it  with  ardour  in  the  East. 

*  A  valuable  aiid  ancient  work,  which  I  presented  to  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Societj'. 


THE  AUTHOR'S  SURVEYS  7 

with  the  single  exception  of  Madari's,  always  making  the  informa- 
tion of  one  a  basis  for  the  instruction  of  another,  who  went  over 
the  same  ground  ;  but  with  additional  views  and  advantages, 
and  with  the  aid  of  the  natives  brought  successively  by  each, 
till  I  exhausted  every  field. 

Thus,  in  a  few  years,  I  had  filled  several  volumes  with  lines  of 
route  throughout  this  space  ;  and  having  many  frontier  and 
intermediate  points,  the  positions  of  which  were  fixed,  a  general 
outline  of  the  result  was  constructed,  wherein  all  this  information 
was  laid  down.  I  speak  more  particularly  of  the  western  States, 
as  the  central  portion,  or  that  watered  by  the  Chambal  and  its 
tributary  streams,  whether  from  the  elevated  Aravalli  on  the 
west,  or  from  the  Vindhya  mountains  on  the  south,  has  been 
personally  surveyed  and  measured  in  every  direction,  with  an 
accuracy  sufficient  for  every  political  or  military  purpose,  until 
the  grand  trigonometrical  survey  from  the  peninsula  shall  be 
•extended  throughout  India.  These  coimtries  form  an  extended 
plain  to  the  Sutlej  north,  and  west  to  the  Indus,  rendering  the 
amalgamation  of  geographical  materials  much  less  difficult  than 
where  mountainous  regions  intervene. 

After  having  laid  down  these  varied  lines  in  the  outline 
described,  I  determined  to  check  and  confirm  its  accuracy  by 
recommencing  the  survey  on  a  new  plan,  viz.  trigonometrically. 

My  parties  were  again  despatched  to  resume  their  labours 
over  fields  now  familiar  to  them.  They  commenced  from  points 
whose  positions  were  fixed  (and  my  knowledge  enabled  me  to 
give  a  series  of  such),  from  each  of  which,  as  a  centre,  they  col- 
lected every  radiating  route  to  every  town  within  the  distance  of 
twenty  miles.  The  points  selected  were  generally  such  as  to 
approach  equilateral  [7]  triangles  ;  and  although  to  digest  the 
information  became  a  severe  toil,  the  method  will  appear,  even 
to  the  casual  observer,  one  which  must  throw  out  its  own  errors  ; 
for  these  lines  crossed  in  every  direction,  and  consequently 
corrected  each  other.  By  such  means  did  I  work  my  way  in 
those  unknown  tracts,  and  the  result  is  in  part  before  the  reader. 
I  say,  in  part  ;  for  my  health  compels  me  reluctantly  to  leave 
out  much  which  could  be  combined  from  ten  folios  of  journeys 
extending  throughout  these  regions. 

The  Author's  Map. — In  1815,  as  before  stated,  an  outline  map 
containing   all   the   information   thus   obtained,   and  which   the 


8  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

subsequent  crisis  rendered  of  essential  importance,  was  presented 
by  me  to  the  Governor- General  of  India.  Upon  the  very  eve  of 
the  war  I  constructed  and  presented  another,  of  the  greater 
portion  of  Malwa,  to  which  it  appeared  expedient  to  confine  the 
oiDcrations  against  the  Pindaris.  The  material  feature  in  this 
small  map  was  the  general  position  of  the  Vindhya  mountains, 
the  sources  and  course  of  every  river  originating  thence,  and  the 
passes  in  this  chain,  an  object  of  primary  importance.  The 
boundaries  of  the  various  countries  in  this  tract  were  likewise 
defined,  and  it  became  essentially  useful  in  the  subsequent  dis- 
memberment of  the  Peshwa's  dominions. 

In  the  construction  of  this  map  I  had  many  fixed  points,  both 
of  Dr.  Hunter's  and  my  own,  to  work  from  ;  and  it  is  gratifying 
to  observe  that  though  several  measured  lines  have  since  been 
run  through  this  space,  not  only  the  general,  but  often  the  identi- 
cal features  of  mine  have  been  preserved  in  the  maps  since  given 
to  the  world.  As  considerable  improvement  has  been  made  by 
several  measured  lines  through  this  tract,  and  many  positions 
affixed  by  a  scientific  and  zealous  geographer,  I  have  had  no 
hesitation  in  incorporating  a  small  portion  of  this  improved 
geography  in  the  map  now  presented.^ 

Many  surveyed  lines  were  made  by  ine  from  1817  to  1822  ; 
and  here  I  express  my  obligations  to  my  kinsman,^  to  whom 
alone  I  owe  any  aid  for  improving  this  portion  of  my  geographical 
labours.  This  officer  made  a  circuitous  survey,  which  compre- 
hended nearly  the  extreme  points  of  Mewar,  from  the  capital 
by  Chitor,  Mandalgarh,  Jahazpur,  Rajmahall,  and  in  return  by 
Banai,  Radnor,  Deogarh  [8],  to  the  point  of  outset.  From  these 
extreme  points  he  was  enabled  to  place  many  intermediate  ones, 
for  which  Mewar  is  so  favourable,  by  reason  of  its  isolated 
hills. 

In  1820  I  made  an  important  journey  across  the  Aravalli,  by 
Kumbhalmer,  Pali,  to  Jodhpur,  the  capital  of  Marwar,  and 
thence  by  Merta,  tracing  the  course  of  the  Luni  to  its  source  at 
Ajmer ;     and   from   this   celebrated   residence    of   the    Chauhan 

^  It  is,  however,  limited  to  Malwa,  whose  geography  was  greatly  im- 
proved and  enlarged  by  the  labours  of  Captain  Dangerfield  ;  and  though 
my  materials  could  fill  up  the  whole  of  tliis  province,  I  merely  insert  the 
chief  points  to  connect  it  with  Rajasthan. 

^  Captain  P.  T.  Waugh,  10th  Regiment  Light  Cavalry,  Bengal. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  9 

kings  and  Mogul  emperors;  returning  through  the  central  lands 
of  Mewar,  by  Banai  and  Banera,  to  the  capital. 

I  had  the  peculiar  satisfaction  to  find  that  my  position  of 
Jodhpur,  which  has  been  used  as  a  capital  point  in  fixing  the 
geography  west  and  north,  was  only  3'  of  space  out  in  latitude, 
and  little  more  in  longitude  ;  which  accounted  for  the  coincidence 
of  my  position  of  Bikaner  with  that  assigned  by  Mr.  Elphtnstone 
in  his  account  of  the  embassy  to  Kabul. 

Besides  Udaipur,  Jodhpur,  Ajmer,  etc.,  whose  positions  I  had 
fixed  by  observations,  and  the  points  laid  down  by  Hunter,  I 
availed  myself  of  a  few  positions  given  to  me  by  that  enterprising 
traveller,  the  author  of  the  journey  into  Ivliorasan,^  who  marched 
from  Delhi,  by  Nagor  and  Jodhpur,  to  Udaipur. 

The  outline  of  the  countries  of  Gujarat,^  the  Saurashtra 
peninsula,  and  Cutch,  inserted  chiefly  by  way  of  connexion,  is 
entirely  taken  from  the  labours  of  that  distinguished  geographer, 
the  late  General  Reynolds.  We  had  both  gone  over  a  great 
portion  of  the  same  field,  and  my  testimony  is  due  to  the  value 
of  his  researches  in  countries  into  which  he  never  personally 
penetrated,  evincing  what  may  be  done  by  industry,  and  the 
use  of  such  materials  as  I  have  described. 

Physiography  of  Bajputana. — I  shall  conclude  with  a  rapid 
sketch  of  the  physiognomy  of  these  regions  ;  minute  and  local 
descriptions  will  appear  more  appropriately  in  the  respective 
historical  portions 

Rajasthan  presents  a  great  variety  of  feature.  Let  me  place 
the  reader  on  the  highest  peak  of  the  insulated  Abu,  '  the  saint's 
pinnacle,'  ^  as  it  is  termed,  and  guide  his  eye  in  a  survey  over  this 
wide  expanse,  from  the  '  blue  waters  '  of  the  Indus  west  to  the 
'  withy-covered  '  *  Betwa  on  the  east.  From  this,  the  most  [9] 
elevated  spot  in  Hindustan,  overlooking  by  fifteen  hundred  feet 
the  Aravalli  moimtains,  his  eye  descends  to  the  plains  of  Medpat  * 

^  Sir.  J.  B.  Fraser  [whose  book  was  published  in  1825]. 

^  My  last  journey,  in  1822-23,  was  from  Udaipur,  through  these  countries 
towards  the  Delta  of  the  Indus,  but  more  with  a  view  to  historical  and 
antiquarian  than  geographical  research.  It  proved  the  most  fruitful  of 
all  my  many  journeys.  [The  results  are  recorded  in  Travels  in  Western 
India,  pubhshed  in  1839,  after  the  author's  death.]  ®  Guru  Sikhar. 

*  Its  classic  name  is  Vetravati,  Vetra  being  the  common  willow  [or  reed] 
in  Sanskrit ;  said  by  WiLford  to  be  the  same  in  Welsh. 

*  Literally  'the  central  {madJiya]  flat.'    [It  means  'Land  of  the  Med  tribe.'] 


10  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

(the  classic  term  for  Mewar),  whose  chief  streams,  flowing  from 
the  base  of  the  AravaUi,  join  the  Berach  and  Banas,  and  are 
prevented  from  uniting  with  the  Chambal  only  by  the  Patar  ^  or 
plateau  of  Central  India. 

Ascending  this  plateau  near  the  celebrated  Chitor,  let  the  eye 
deviate  slightly  from  the  direct  eastern  line,  and  pursue  the  only 
practicable  path  by  Ratangarh,  and  Singoli,  to  Kotah,  and  he 
will  observe  its  three  successive  steppes,  the  miniature  representa- 
tion of  those  of  Russian  Tartary.  Let  the  observer  here  glance 
across  the  Chambal  and  traverse  Haraoti  to  its  eastern  frontier, 
guarded  by  the  fortress  of  Shahabad  :  thence  abruptly  descend 
the  plateau  to  the  level  of  the  Sind,  still  proceeding  eastward, 
until  the  table-mountain,  the  western  limit  of  Bundelkhand, 
affords  a  resting-point. 

To  render  this  more  distmct,  I  present  a  profile  of  the  tract 
described  from  Abu  to  Kotra  on  the  Betwa  :  ^  from  Abu  to  the 
Chambal,  the  result  of  barometrical  measurement,  and  from  the 
latter  to  the  Betwa  from  my  general  observations  ^  of  the  irregu- 
larities of  surface.  The  result  is,  that  the  Betwa  at  Kotra  is  one 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  one  thousand  lower  than 
the  city  and  valley  of  Udaipur,  which  again  is  on  the  same  level 
with  the  base  of  Abu,  two  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  This  line, 
the  general  direction  of  which  is  but  a  short  distance  from  the 
tropic,  is  about  six  geographic  degrees  in  length  :  yet  is  this  small 
space  highly  diversified,  both  in  its  inhabitants  and  the  produc- 
tion of  the  soil,  whether  hidden  or  revealed. 

^  Meaning  '  table  {pat)  mountain  (ar).' — Although  ar  may  not  be  found 
ill  any  Sanskrit  dictionary  with  the  signification  '  mountain,'  yet  it  appears 
to  be  a  primitive  root  possessing  such  meaning — instance,  Ar-buddha, 
'hill  of  Buddha';  Aravalli,  'hill  of  strength.'  Ar  is  Hebrew  for  'moun- 
tain '  (qu.  Ararat  ?)  "Opos  in  Greek  ?  The  common  word  for  a  mountain 
in  Sanskrit,  gir,  is  equally  so  in  Hebrew.  [These  derivations  are  out  of 
date.  The  origin  of  the  word  pntdr  is  obscure.  Sir  G.  Grierson,  to  whom 
the  question  was  referred,  suggests  a  connexion  with  Marathi  pathdr,  '  a 
tableland,'  or  Gujarati  pathdr  (Skr.  prastara,  '  expanse,  extent ').  The 
word  is  probably  not  connected  with  Hindi  pdt,  '  a  board.'] 

2  The  Betwa  River  runs  under  the  tableland  just  alluded  to,  on  the  east. 

^  I  am  familiar  with  these  regions,  and  confidently  predict  that  when  a 
similar  measurement  shall  be  made  from  the  Betwa  to  .Kotah,  these  results 
will  little  err,  and  the  error  will  be  in  having  made  Kotah  somewhat  too 
elevated,  and  the  bed  of  the  Betwa  a  little  too  low.  [Udaipur  city  is  1950 
feet  above  sea-level.] 


1^  i  ^1 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  11 

Let  us  now  from  our  eleva^d  station  (still  turned  to  the  east) 
carry  the  eye  both  south  and  north  of  the  line  described,  which 
nearly  bisects  Madhyadesa,^  '  the  central  land  '  of  Rajasthan ; 
best  defined  by  the  course  of  the  Chambal  and  [10]  its  tributary 
streams,  to  its  confluence  with  the  Jumna  :  while  the  regions 
west  of  the  transalpine  Aravalli^^  may  as  justly  be  defined  Western 
Rajasthan. 

Looking  to  the  south,  the  eye  rests  on  the  long-extended  and 
strongly  -  defined  line  of  the  Vindhya  mountains,  the  proper 
bounds  of  Hindustan  and  the  Deccan.  Though,  from  our  elevated 
stand  on  '  the  Saint's  Pinnacle  '  of  Abu,  we  look  down  on  the 
Vindhya  as  a  range  of  diminished  importance,  it  is  that  our 
position  is  the  least  favourable  to  viewing  its  grandeur,  which 
would  be  most  apparent  from  the  south  ;  though  throughout 
this  skirt  of  descent,  irregular  elevations  attain  a  height  of  many 
hundred  feet  above  such  points  of  its  abrupt  descent. 

The  Aravalli  itself  may  be  said  to  coiuiect  with  the  Vindhya, 
and  the  point  of  junction  to  be  towards  Champaner  ;  though  it 
might  be  as  correct  to  say  the  Aravalli  thence  rose  upon  and 
stretched  from  the  Vindhya.  Whilst  it  is  much  less  elevated 
than  more  to  the  north,  it  presents  bold  features  throughout,^ 
south  by  Lunawara,  Dungarpur,  and  Idar,  to  Amba  Bhawani 
and  Udaipur. 

Still  looking  from  Abu  over  the  tableland  of  Malwa,  we 
observe  her  plains  of  black  loam  furrowed  by  the  numerous 
streams  from  the  highest  points  of  the  Vindhya,  pursuing  their 
northerly  course  ;  some  meandering  through  valleys  or  faUing 
over  precipices  ;  others  bearing  down  all  opposition,  and  actually 
forcing  an  exit  through  the  central  plateau  to  join  the  Chambal. 
The  Aravalli  Range. — Having  thus  glanced  at  the  south,  let 
us  cast  the  eye  north  of  this  line,  and  pause  on  the  alpine  Aravalli.* 

^  Central  India,  a  term  which  I  first  applied  as  the  title  of  the  map  pre- 
sented to  the  Marquess  of  Hastings,  in  1815,  'of  Central  and  Western  India,' 
and  since  become  famiUar.     [Usually  applied  to  the  Ganges-Jumna  Duab.] 

"^  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  Aravalli,  though  it  loses  its  tabular  form, 
sends  its  branches  north,  terminating  at  DeUii. 

^  Those  who  have  marched  from  Baroda  towards  Malwa  and  marked  the 
irregularities  of  surface  will  admit  this  chain  of  connexion  of  the  Vmdhya 
and  AravaUi. 

*  '  The  refuge  of  strength '  [?],  a  title  justly  merited,  from  its  affording 
protection  to  the  most  ancient  sovereign  race  which  holds  dominion,  whether 


12  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

Let  us  take  a  section  of  it,  from  the  capital,  Udaipur,  the  line  of 
our  station  on  Abu,  passing  through  Oghna  Panarwa,  and  Mirpur, 
to  the  western  descent  near  Sirohi,  a  space  of  nearly  sixty  miles 
in  a  direct  h"ne,  where  "  hills  o'er  hills  and  alps  on  alps  arise," 
from  the  ascent  at  Udaipur,  to  the  descent  to  ISIarwar.  All  this 
space  to  the  Sirohi  frontier  is  inhabited  by  communities  of  the 
aboriginal  races,  living  in  a  state  of  primeval  and  almost  savage 
independence,  owning  no  paramount  power,  paying  no  tribute, 
but  with  all  the  simplicity  of  republics  ;  their  leaders,  with  the 
title  of  Rawat,  being  hereditary.  Thus  the  Rawat  of  the  Oghna 
commune  can  assemble  five  thousand  bows,  and  several  others  [11 J 
can  on  occasion  muster  considerable  numbers.  Their  habitations 
are  dispersed  through  the  valleys  in  small  rude  hamlets,  near  their 
pastures  or  places  of  defence.^ 

Let  me  now  transport  the  reader  to  the  citadel  pinnacle  of 
Kumbhalmer,^  thence  surveying  the  range  running  north  to  Ajmer, 
where,  shortly  after,  it  loses  its  tabular  form,  and  breaking  into 
lofty  ridges,  sends  numerous  branches  through  the  Shaikhavati 
federation,  and  Alwar,  till  in  low  heights  it  terminates  at  Delhi. 

From  Kumbhalmer  to  Ajmer  the  whole  space  is  termed 
Merwara,  and  is  inhabited  by  the  mountain  race  of  Mer  or  Mair, 
the  habits  and  history  of  which  singular  class  will  be  hereafter 
related.     The  range  averages  from  six  to  fifteen  miles  in  breadth, 

in  the  east  or  west — the  ancient  stock  of  the  Suryavans,  the  Hehadai  of 
India,  our  '  children  of  the  sun,'  the  princes  of  Mewar.  [Aravalli  probably 
means  '  Comer  Line.'] 

^  It  was  my  intention  to  have  penetrated  through  their  singular  abodes  ; 
and  I  had  negotiated,  and  obtained  of  these  '  forest  lords  '  a  promise  of 
hospitable  passport,  of  which  I  have  never  allowed  myself  to  doubt,  as  the 
virtues  of  pledged  faith  and  hospitahty  are  ever  to  be  found  in  stronger 
keeping  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  civiUzation.  Many  years  ago  one  of  my 
parties  was  permitted  to  range  through  this  tract.  In  one  of  the  passes  of 
their  lengthened  valleys  '  The  Lord  of  the  Mountain  '  was  dead  :  the  men 
were  all  abroad,  and  his  widow  alone  in  the  hut.  Madari  told  his  story, 
and  claimed  her  surety  and  passport ;  which  the  Bhilni  dehvered  from  the 
quiver  of  her  late  lord  ;  and  the  arrow  carried  in  his  hand  was  as  well 
recognised  as  the  cumbrous  roll  with  all  its  seals  and  appendages  of  a 
traveller  in  Europe. 

*  Meru  signifies  '  a  hill '  in  Sanskrit,  hence  Komal,  or  properly  Kumbhal- 
mer, is  'the  hill'  or  'mountain  of  Kumbha/  a  prince  whose  exploits  are 
narrated.  Likewise  Ajmer  is  the  'hiU  of  Ajaj^a,'  the  'Invincible'  hill. 
Mer  is  with  the  long  e,  like  Mere  in  French,  in  classical  orthography. 
[Ajmer,  '  hill  of  Aja,  Cha^uhan.'] 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  13 

having  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  villages  and  hamlets 
scattered  over  its  valleys  and  rocks,  abundantly  watered,  not 
deficient  in  pasture,  and  with  cultivation  enough  for  all  internal 
wants,  though  it  is  raised  with  infinite  labour  on  terraces,  as  the 
vine  is  cultivated  in  Switzerland  and  on  the  Rhine. 

In  vain  does  the  eye  search  for  any  trace  of  wheel-carriage 
across  this  compound  range  from  Idar  to  Ajmer  ;  and  it  conse- 
quently well  merits  its  appellation  ara,  '  the  barrier,'  for  the 
strongest  arm  of  modern  warfare,  artillery,  would  have  to  turn 
the  chain  by  the  north  to  avoid  the  impracticable  descent  to  the 
west.^ 

Views  from  the  Aravalli  Hills. — Guiding  the  eye  along  the  chain, 
several  fortresses  are  observed  on  pinnacles  guarding  the  passes 
on  either  side,  while  numerous  rills  descend,  pouring  over  the 
declivities,  seeking  their  devious  exit  between  the  projecting  ribs 
of  the  mountain.  The  Berach,  the  Banas,  the  Kothari,  the 
Khari,  the  Dahi  all  unite  with  the  Banas  to  the  east,  while  to 
the  west  the  still  more  numerous  streams  which  fertilize  the  rich 
province  of  Godwar,  unite  to  '  the  Salt  River,'  the  Luni,  and 
mark  the  true  line  of  the  desert.  Of  these  the  chief  are  the  Sukri 
and  the  [12]  Bandi  ;  while  others  which  are  not  perennial,  and 
depend  on  atmospheric  causes  for  their  supply,  receive  the  general 
denomination  of  rela,  indicative  of  rapid  mountain  torrents, 
carrying  in  their  descent  a  vast  volume  of  alluvial  deposit,  to 
enrich  the  siliceous  soil  below. 

However  grand  the  view  of  the  chaotic  mass  of  rock  from  this 
elevated  site  of  Kumbhalmer,  it  is  from  the  plains  of  Marwar  that  its 
majesty  is  most  apparent  ;  where  its  '  splintered  pinnacles  '  are 
seen  rising  over  each  other  in  varied  form,  or  frowning  over  the 
dark  indented  recesses  of  its  forest-covered  and  rugged  declivities. 

On  reflection,  I  am  led  to  pronounce  the  Aravalli  a  connexion 
of  the  '  Apennines  of  India  '  ;   the  Ghats  on  the  Malabar  coast  of 

^  At  the  point  of  my  descent  this  was  characteristically  illustrated  by 
my  Rajput  friend  of  Semar,  whose  domain  had  been  invaded  and  cow-pens 
emptied,  but  a  few  days  before,  by  the  mountain  bandit  of  Sirohi.  With 
their  booty  they  took  the  shortest  and  not  most  practicable  road  :  but 
though  their  alpine  kine  are  pretty  well  accustomed  to  leaping  in  such  abodes, 
it  would  appear  they  had  hesitated  here.  The  difficulty  was  soon  got  over 
by  one  of  the  Minas,  who  with  his  dagger  transfixed  one  and  rolled  him  over 
the  height,  his  carcase  serving  at  once  as  a  precedent  and  a  stepping-stone 
for  his  horned  kindred. 


14  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

the  peninsula  :  nor  does  the  passage  of  the  Nerbudda  or  the 
Tapti,  through  its  diminished  centre,  mihtate  against  the  hypo- 
thesis, which  might  be  better  substantiated  by  the  comparison  of 
their  intrinsic  character  and  structure. 

Geology  of  the  Aravallis. — The  general  character  of  the  Aravalli 
is  its  primitive  formation  :  ^  granite,  reposing  in  variety  of  angle 
(the  general  dip  is  to  the  east)  on  massive,  compact,  dark  blue 
slate,  the  latter  rarely  appearing  much  above  the  surface  or  base 
of  the  superincumbent  granite.  The  internal  valleys  abound  in 
variegated  quartz  and  a  variety  of  schistous  slate  of  every  hue, 
which  gives  a  most  singular  appearance  to  the  roofs  of  the  houses 
and  temples  when  the  sun  shines  upon  them.  Rocks  of  gneiss 
and  of  syenite  appear  in  the  intervals  ;  and  in  the  diverging 
ridges  west  of  Ajmer  the  summits  are  quite  dazzling  with  the 
enormous  masses  of  vitreous  rose-coloured  quartz. 

The  Aravalli  and  its  subordinate  hills  are  rich  in  both  mineral 
and  metallic  products  ;  and,  as  stated  in  the  annals  of  Mewar, 
to  the  latter  alone  can  be  attributed  the  resources  which  enabled 
this  family  so  long  to  struggle  against  superior  power,  and  to  raise 
those  magnificent  structures  which  would  do  honour  to  the  most 
potent  kingdoms  of  the  west. 

The  mines  are  royalties  ;  their  produce  a  monopoly,  increasing 
the  personal  revenue  of  their  prince.  An-Dan-  Khan  is  a  triple 
figurative  expression,  which  comprehends  the  sum  of  sovereign 
rights  in  Rajasthan,  being  allegiance,  commercial  duties,  mines. 
The  tin-mines  of  Mewar  were  once  very  productive,  and  yielded, 
it  is  asserted,  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  silver  :  but  the  caste 
of  miners  is  extinct,  and  political  reasons,  during  the  Mogul 
domination,  led  to  the  [13]  concealment  of  such  sources  of  wealth. 
Copper  of  a  very  fine  description  is  likewise  abundant,  and  supplies 
the  currency  ;  and  the  chief  of  Salumbar  even  coins  by  sufferance 
from  the  mines  on  his  own  estate.     Surma,  or  the  oxide  of  anti- 

^  ["  Oldest  of  all  the  physical  features  which  intersect  the  continent  is 
the  range  of  mountains  known  as  the  Aravallis,  which  strilies  across  the 
Peninsula  from  north-east  to  south-west,  overlooking  the  sandy  wastes  of 
Rajputana.  The  Aravallis  are  but  the  depressed  and  degraded  relics  of  a 
far  more  prominent  mountain  system,  which  stood,  in  Palaeozoic  times,  on 
the  edge  of  the  Rajputana  Sea.  The  disintegrated  rocks  which  once  formed 
part  of  the  Aravallis  are  now  spread  out  in  wide  red-stone  plains  to  the 
east"  {lOI.i.  1).] 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  15 

mony,  is  found  on  the  western  frontier.  The  garnet,  amethystine 
quartz,  rock  crystal,  the  chrysolite,  and  inferior  kinds  of  the 
emerald  family  are  all  to  be  found  within  Mewar  ;  and  though 
I  have  seen  no  specimens  decidedly  valuable,  the  Rana  has  often 
told  me  that,  according  to  tradition,  his  native  hills  contained 
every  species  of  mineral  wealth. 

The  Patar  Plateau. — Let  us  now  quit  our  alpine  station  on  the 
Aravalli,  and  make  a  tour  of  the  Patar,  or  plateau  of  Central 
India,  not  the  least  important  feature  of  this  interesting  region. 
It  possesses  a  most  decided  character,  and  is  distinct  from  the 
Vindhya  to  the  south  and  the  Aravalli  to  the  west,  being  of  the 
secondary  formation,  or  trap,  of  the  most  regular  horizontal 
stratification. 

The  circimiference  of  the  plateau  is  best  explained  in  the  map, 
though  its  surface  is  most  unequally  detailed,  and  is  continually 
alternating  its  character  between  the  tabular  form  and  clustering 
ridges. 

Commencing  the  tour  of  Mandalgarh,  let  us  proceed  south, 
skirting  Chitor  (both  on  insulated  rocks  detached  from  the 
plateau),  thence  by  Jawad,  Dantoli,  Rampura,^  Bhanpura,  the 
Mukunddarra  Pass,^  to  Gagraim  (where  the  Kali  Sind  forces  an 
entrance  through  its  table  -  barrier  to  Eklera)'  and  Margwas 
(where  the  Parbati,  taking  advantage  of  the  diminished  eleva- 
tion, passes  fromMalwa  to  Haraoti),  and  by  Raghugarh,  Shahabad, 
Ghazigarh,  Gaswani,  to  Jadonwati,  where  the  plateau  terminates 
on  the  Chambal,  east ;  while  from  the  same  point  of  outset, 
Mandalgarh,  soon  losing  much  of  its  table  form,  it  stretches  away 
in  bold  ranges,  occasionally  tabular,  as  in  the  Bundi  fortress,  by 
Dablana,  Indargarh,*  and  Lakheri,*  to  Ranthambhor  and  Karauli, 
terminating  at  Dholpur  Bari 

The  elevation  and  inequalities  of  this  plateau  are  best  seen  by 
crossing  it  from  west  to  east,  from  the  plains  to  the  level  of  the 
Chambal,  where,  with  the  exception  of  the  short  flat  between 
Kotah  and  Pali  ferry,  this  noble  stream  is  seen  rushing  through 
the  rocky  barrier. 

At  Ranthambhor  the  plateau  breaks  into  lofty  ranges,  their 

^  Near  this  the  Chambal  first  breaks  into  the  Patar. 

^  Here  is  the  celebrated  pass  through  the  mountains. 

^  Here  the  Niwaz  breaks  the  chain. 

*  Both  celebrated  passes,  where  the  ranges  are  very  compHcated. 


16  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

white  summits  [14]  sparkling  in  the  snn  ;  cragged  but  not  peaked, 
and  preserving  the  characteristic  formation,  though  disunited 
from  the  mass.  Here  there  are  no  less  than  seven  distinct  ranges 
{Satpara),  through  all  of  which  the  Banas  has  to  force  a  passage 
to  unite  with  the  Chambal.  Beyond  Ranthambhor,  and  the 
whole  way  from  Karauli  to  the  river,  is  an  irregular  tableland, 
on  the  edge  of  whose  summit  are  the  fortresses  of  Utgir,  Mandrel, 
and  that  more  celebrated  of  Thun.  But  east  of  the  eastern  side 
there  is  still  another  steppe  of  descent,  which  may  be  said  to 
originate  near  the  fountain  of  the  Sind  at  Latoti,  and  passing 
by  Chanderi,  Kanyadana,  Narwar,  and  Gwalior,  terminates  at 
Deogarh,  in  the  plains  of  Gohad.  The  descent  from  this  second 
steppe  is  into  Bundelkhand  and  the  valley  of  the  Betwa. 

Distinguished  as  is  this  elevated  region  of  the  surface  of 
Central  India,  its  summit  is  but  little  higher  than  the  general 
elevation  of  the  crest  of  the  Vindhya,  and  upon  a  level  with  the 
valley  of  Udaipur  and  base  of  the  Aravalli.  The  slope  or  descent, 
therefore,  from  both  these  ranges  to  the  skirts  of  the  plateau  is 
great  and  abrupt,  of  which  the  most  intelligible  and  simple  proof 
appears  in  the  course  of  these  streams.  Few  portions  of  the 
globe  attest  more  powerfully  the  force  exerted  by  the  action  of 
waters  to  subdue  every  obstacle,  than  a  view  of  the  rock-bound 
channels  of  these  streams  in  this  adamantine  barrier.  Four 
streams — one  of  v/hich,  the  Chambal,  would  rank  with  the  Rhine 
and  almost  with  the  Rhone — have  here  forced  their  way,  laying 
bare  the  stratification  from  the  water's  level  to  the  summit,  from 
three  to  six  hundred  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  the  rock  appear- 
ing as  if  chiselled  by  the  hand  of  man.  Here  the  geologist  may 
read  the  book  of  nature  in  distinct  character  ;  few  tracts  (from 
Rampura  to  Kotah)  will  be  foimd  more  interesting  to  him,  to  the 
antiquarian,  or  to  the  lover  of  nature  in  her  most  rugged  attire. 

The  surface  of  this  extensive  plateau  is  greatly  diversified. 
At  Kotah  the  bare  protruding  rock  in  some  places  presents 
not  a  trace  of  vegetation  ;  but  where  it  bevels  off  to  the  banks 
of  the  Par  it  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most  productive  soils  in 
India,  and  better  cultivated  than  any  spot  even  of  British  India. 
In  its  indented  sides  are  glens  of  the  most  romantic  description 
(as  the  fountain  of  '  the  snake  King '  near  Hinglaj),  and  deep 
dells,  the  source  of  small  streams,  where  many  treasures  of  art,^ 
^  I  have  rescued  a  few  of  these  from  oblivion  to  present  to  my  countrymen. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  17 

in  temples  and  ancient  dwellings,  yet  remain  to  reward  the 
traveller  [15]. 

This  central  elevation,  as  before  described,  is  of  the  secondary 
formation,  called  trap.  Its  prevailing  colour,  where  laid  bare  by 
the  Chambal,  is  milk-white  :  it  is  compact  and  close-grained, 
and  though  perhaps  the  mineral  offering  the  greatest  resistance 
to  the  chisel,  the  sculptures  at  the  celebrated  BaroUi  evince  its 
utility  to  the  artist.  White  is  also  the  prevailing  colour  to  the 
westward.  About  Kotah  it  is  often  mixed  white  and  porphyritic, 
and  about  .Shahabad  of  a  mixed  red  and  brown  tint.  When 
exposed  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  in  its  eastern  declivity 
the  decomposed  and  rough  surface  would  almost  cause  it  to  be 
mistaken  for  gritstone. 

This  formation  is  not  favourable  to  mineral  wealth.  The 
only  metals  are  lead  and  iron  ;  but  their  ores,  especially  the  latter, 
are  abundant.  There  are  mines,  said  to  be  of  value,  of  sulphuret 
of  lead  (galena)  in  the  GAvalior  province,  from  which  I  have  had 
specimens,  but  these  also  are  closed.  The  natives  fear  to  extract 
their  mineral  wealth  ;  and  though  abounding  in  lead,  tin,  and 
copper,  they  are  indebted  almost  entirely  to  Europe  even  for  the 
materials  of  their  culinary  utensils. 

Without  attempting  a  delineation  of  inferior  ranges,  I  will 
only  further  direct  the  reader's  attention  to  an  important  deduc- 
tion from  this  superficial  review  of  the  physiognomy  of  Rajwara. 

The  Mountain  System  of  Central  India. — There  are  two  dis- 
tinctly marked  declivities  or  slopes  in  Central  India  :  the  chief  is 
that  from  west  to  east,  from  the  great  rampart,  the  Aravalli 
(interposed  to  prevent  the  drifting  of  the  sands  into  the  central 
plains,  bisected  by  the  Chambal  and  his  hundred  arms)  to  the 
Betwa  ;  the  other  slope  is  from  south  to  north,  from  the  Vindhya, 
t  he  southern  buttress  of  Central  India,  to  the  Jumna. 

Extending  our  definition,  we  may  pronounce  the  course  of 
the  Jumna  to  indicate  the  central  fall  of  that  immense  vale  which 
has  its  northern  slope  from  the  base  of  the  Himalaya,  and  the 
southern  from  that  of  the  Vindhya  mountains. 

It  is  not  in  contemplation  to  delineate  the  varied  course  of  the 
magnificent  Nerbudda,  though  I  have  abundant  means ;  for  the 
moment  we  ascend  the   summit   of  the   tropical  ^  Vindhya,   to 

^  Hence  its  name,  Vindhija,  '  the  barrier,'  to  the  further  progress  of  the 
sun  in  his  northern  decHnation.     [Skr.  root,  bind,  bid,  '  to  divide.'] 

VOL.  I  C 


18  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

descend  into  the  valley  of  the  Nerbudda,  we  abandon  Rajasthan 
and  the  Rajputs  for  the  aboriginal,  races,  the  first  proprietors  of 
the  land.  These  I  shall  leave  to  others,  and  commence  and  end 
with  the  Chambal,  the  paramount  lord  of  the  floods  of  Central 
India  [16]. 

The  Chambal  River. — The  Chambal  has  his  fountains  in  a  very 
elevated  point  of  the  Vindhya,  amidst  a  cluster  of  hills  on  which 
is  bestowed  the  local  appellation  of  Janapao.  It  has  three  co- 
equal sources  from  the  same  cluster,  the  Chambal,  Chambela, 
and  Gambhir  ;  while  no  less  than  nine  other  streams  have  their 
origin  on  the  south  side,  and  pour  their  waters  into  the  Nerbudda. 

The  Sipra  from  Pipalda,  the  little  Sind  ^  from  Dewas,  and  other 
minor  streams  passing  Ujjain,  all  unite  with  the  Chambal  in 
different  stages  before  he  breaks  through  the  plateau. 

The  Kali  Sind,  from  Bagri,  and  its  petty  branch,  the  Sodwia, 
from  Raghugarh  ;  the  Niwaz  (or  Jamniri),  from  Morsukri  and 
Magarda  ;  the  Parbati,  from  the  pass  of  Amlakhera,  with  its  more 
eastern  arm  from  Daulatpur,  uniting  at  Pharhar,  are  all  points  in 
the  crest  of  the  Vindhya  range,  whence  they  pursue  their  course 
through  the  plateau,  rolling  over  precipices,^  till  engulfed  in  the 
Chambal  at  the  ferries  of  Nunera  and  Pali.  All  these  unite  on 
the  right  bank. 

On  the  left  bank  his  flood  is  increased  by  the  Banas,  fed  by 
the  perennial  streams  from  the  Aravalli,  and  the  Berach  from 
the  lakes  of  Udaipur ;  and  after  watering  Mewar,  the  southern 
frontier  of  Jaipur,  and  the  highlands  of  Karauli,  the  river  turns 
south  to  unite  at  the  holy  Sangam,'  Rameswar.  Minor  streams 
contribute  (unworthy,  however,  of  separate  notice),  and  after  a 
thousand  involutions  he  reaches  the  Jumna,  at  the  holy  Triveni,* 
or  '  triple-allied  '  stream,  between  Etawa  and  Kalpi. 

^  This  ii  the  fourth  Sind  of  India.  We  have,  first,  the  Sind  or  Indus  ; 
this  little  Sind  ;  then  the  Kali  Sind,  or  '  black  river  '  ;  and  again  the  Sind 
rising  at  Latoti,  on  the  plateau  west  and  above  Sironj.  Sin  is  a  Scythio 
word  for  river  (now  unused),  so  applied  by  the  Hindus.  [Skr.  Sindhu, 
probably  from  the  root  syand,  '  to  flow.'] 

^  The  falls  of  the  Kali  Sind  through  the  rocks  at  Gagraun  and  the  Par- 
bati at  Chapra  (Gugal)  are  well  worthy  of  a  visit.  The  latter,  though  I 
encamped  twice  at  Chapra,  from  which  it  was  reputed  five  miles,  I  did  not 
see. 

^  Sangam  is  the  point  of  confluence  of  two  or  more  rivers,  always  sacred 
to  Mahadeva. 

*  The  Jumna,  Chambal,  and  Sind  [triveni,  '  triple  braid  ']. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  19 

The  course  of  the  Chambal,  not  reckoning  the  minor  sinuosities, 
is  upwards  of  five  hundred  miles  ;  ^  and  along  its  banks  specimens 
of  nearly  every  race  now  existing  in  India  may  be  found  :  Sondis, 
Chandarawats,  Sesodias,  Haras,  Gaur,  Jadon,  Sakarwal,  Gujar, 
Jat,*  Tuar,  Chauhan,  Bhadauria,  Kachhwaha,  Sengar,  Bundela  ; 
each  in  associations  of  various  magnitudes,  from  the  substantive 
state  of  the  little  republic  communes  between  the  Chambal  and 
Kuwari'  [17]- 

The  Western  Desert.  —  Having  thus  sketched  the  central 
portion  of  Rajasthan,  or  that  eastward  of  the  Aravalli,  I  shall 
give  a  rapid  general  *  view  of  that  to  the  west,  conducting  the 
reader  over  the  '  Thai  ka  Tiba,'  or  '  sand  hills  '  of  the  desert,  to 
the  valley  of  the  Indus. 

The  Luni  River. — Let  the  reader  again  take  post  on  Abu,  by 
which  he  may  be  saved  a  painful  journey  over  the  Thal.^  The 
most  interesting  object  in  this  arid  '  region  of  death  '  is  the  '  salt 
river,'  the  Luni,  with  its  many  arms  falling  from  the  Aravalli  to 
enrich  the  best  portion  of  the  principality  of  Jodhpur,  and  dis- 
tinctly marking  the  line  of  that  extensive  plain  of  ever-shifting 
sand,  termed  in  Hindu  geography  Marusthali,  corrupted  to  Marwar. 

The  Luni,  from  its  sources,  the  sacred  lakes  of  Pushkar  and 
Ajmer,  and  the  more  remote  arm  from  Parbatsar  to  its  em- 
bouchure in  the  great  western  salt  marsh,  the  Rann,  has  a  course 
of  more  than  three  hundred  miles. 

In  the  term  Eirinon  of  the  historians  of  Alexander,  we  have 
the  corruption  of  the  word  Ran  or  Rann,*  still  used  to  describe 
that  extensive  fen  formed  by  the  deposits  of  the  Luni,  and  the 
equally  saturated  saline  streams  from  the  southern  desert  of 
Dhat.  It  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length  ;  and  where 
broadest,  from  Bhuj  to  Baliari,  about  seventy  :  '  in  which  direc- 

^    [650  miles.] 

2  The  only  tribes  not  of  Rajput  blood.  ^  Tj^g  '  virgin  '  stream. 

*  I  do  not  repeat  the  names  of  towns  forming  the  arrondissements  of  the 
various  States ;  they  are  distinctly  laid  down  in  the  boundary  lines  of  each. 

5  Thai  is  the  general  term  for  the  sand  ridges  of  the  desert.  [Skr.  slhala, 
'  firm  ground.'] 

*  Most  probably  a  corruption  of  aranya,  or  desert ;  [or  iriiia,  irina, 
'  desert,  salt  soil '],  so  that  the  Greek  mode  of  writing  it  is  more  correct  than 
the  present. 

'  [The  area  of  the  Rann  is  about  9000  square  miles  :  its  length  150, 
breadth,  60  miles.     Bhuj  lies  inland,  not  on  the  banks  of  the  Rann.] 


20  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

tion  the  caravans  cross,  having  as  a  place  of  halt  an  insulated 
oasis  in  this  mediterranean  salt  marsh.  In  the  dry  season, 
nothing  meets  the  eye  but  an  extensive  and  glaring  sheet  of  salt, 
spread  over  its  insidious  surface,  full  of  dangerous  quicksands  : 
and  in  the  rains  it  is  a  dirty  saline  solution,  up  to  the  camels' 
girths  in  many  places.  The  little  oasis,  the  Khari  Kaba^  furnishes 
pasture  for  this  useful  animal  and  rest  for  the  traveller  pursuing 
his  journey  to  either  bank. 

The  Mirage. — It  is  on  the  desiccated  borders  ^  of  this  vast  salt 
marsh  that  the  illusory  phenomenon,  the  mirage,  presents  its 
fantastic  appearance,  pleasing  to  all  but  the  wearied  traveller, 
who  sees  a  haven  of  rest  in  the  embattled  towers,  the  peaceful 
hamlet,^  [18]  or  shady  grove,  to  which  he  hastens  in  vain  ;  reced- 
ing as  he  advances,  till  "  the  sun  in  his  might,"  dissipating  these 
"  cloud-capp'd  towers,"  reveals  the  vanity  of  his  pursuit. 

Such  phenomena  are  common  to  the  desert,  more  particularly 
where  these  extensive  saline  depositions  exist,  but  varying  from 
certain  causes.  In  most  cases,  this  powerfully  magnifying  and 
reflecting  medium  is  a  vertical  stratum  ;  at  first  dense  and 
opaque,  it  gradually  attenuates  with  increased  temperature,  till 
the  maximum  of  heat,  which  it  can  no  longer  resist,  drives  it  off 
in  an  ethereal  vapour.  This  optical  deception,  well  known  to  the 
Rajputs,  is  called  sikot,  or  '  winter  castles,'  because  chiefly 
visible  in  the  cold  season  :  hence,  possibly,  originated  the  equally 
illusory  and  delightful  '  Chateau  en  Espagne,'  so  well  known  in 
the  west.^ 

^  It  is  here  the  wild  ass  {ijorlJiar)  roams  at  large,  untamable  as  in  the 
day  of  the  Arabian  Patriarch  of  Uz,  "  whose  house  I  have  made  the  wilder- 
ness, the  barren  land  (or,  according  to  the  Hebrew,  salt  places),  his  dwelling. 
He  scorneth  the  multitude  of  the  city,  neither  regardeth  he  the  cr3ing  of  the 
driver  "  (Job  xxxix.  6,  7).  ^  Purwa. 

^  I  have  beheld  it  from  the  top  of  the  ruined  fortress  of  Hissar  with  un- 
limited range  of  vision,  no  object  to  diverge  its  ray,  save  the  miniature 
forests  ;  the  entire  circle  of  tlie  horizon  a  chain  of  more  than  fancy  could 
form  of  palaces,  towers,  and  these  airy  '  pillars  of  heaven  '  terminating  in 
turn  their  ephemeral  existence.  But  in  the  deserts  of  Dhat  and  Umrasumra, 
where  the  shepherds  pasture  their  flocks,  and  especially  where  the  alkaline 
plant  is  produced,  the  stratification  is  more  horizontal,  and  produces  more 
of  the  watery  deception.  It  is  this  illusion  to  which  the  inspired  writer 
refers,  when  he  says,  "  the  mock  pool  of  the  desert  shall  become  real  water  " 
[Isaiah  xxv.  7].  The  inhabitants  of  the  desert  term  it  Chitram,  literally 
'  the  picture,'  by  no  means  an  unhappy  designation. 


PHYSIOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN  21 

The  Desert. — From  the  north  bank  of  the  Luni  to  the  south, 
and  the  Shaikhavat  frontier  to  the  east,  the  sandy  region  com- 
mences. Bikaner,  Jodhpur,  Jaisalmer  are  all  sandy  plains, 
increasing  in  volume  as  you  proceed  westward.  All  this  portion 
of  territory  is  incumbent  on  a  sandstone  formation  :  soundings  of 
all  the  new  wells  made  from  Jodhpur  to  Ajmer  yielded  the  same 
result  :    sand,  concrete  siliceous  deposits,  and  chalk. 

Jaisalmer  is  everywhere  encircled  by  desert  ;  and  that  portion 
round  the  capital  might  not  be  improperly  termed  an  oasis,  in 
which  wheat,  barley,  and  even  rice  are  produced.  The  fortress 
is  erected  on  the  extremity  of  a  range  of  some  hundred  feet  in 
elevation,  which  can  be  traced  beyond  its  southern  confines  to  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  Chhotan  erected  upon  them,  and  which 
tradition  has  preserved  as  the  capital  of  a  tribe,  or  prince,  termed 
Hapa,  of  whom  no  other  trace  exists.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
this  ridge  may  be  connected  with  that  which  runs  through  the 
rich  provuice  of  Jalor  ;  consequently  an  offset  from  the  base  of 
Abu. 

Though  all  these  regions  collectively  bear  the  terra  Marusthali, 
or  '  region  of  death  '  (the  emphatic  and  figurative  phrase  for  the 
desert),  the  restrictive  definition  applies  to  a  part  only,  that 
under  the  dominion  of  the  Rathor  race  [19]. 

From  Balotra  on  the  Luni,  throughout  the  whole  of  Dhat  and 
Umrasumra,  the  western  portion  of  Jaisalmer,  and  a  broad  strip 
between  the  southern  limits  of  Daudputra  and  Bikaner,  there  is 
real  solitude  and  desolation.  But  from  the  Sutlej  to  the  Rann, 
a  space  of  five  hundred  miles  of  longitudinal  distance,  and  varying 
in  breadth  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles,  numerous  oases  are 
found,  where  the  shepherds  from  the  valley  of  the  Indus  and  the 
Thai  pasture  their  flocks.  The  springs  of  water  in  these  places 
have  various  appellations,  tar,  par,  rar,  dar,  all  expressive  of  the 
element,  round  which  assemble  the  Rajars,  Sodhas,  Mangalias, 
and  Sahariyas,^  inhabiting  the  desert. 

^  Sehraie  [in  the  text],  from  sahra,  '  desert.'  Hence  Sarrazin,  or  Saracen, 
is  a  corruption  from  sahra,  '  desert,'  and  zadan,  '  to  strike,'  contracted. 
Rdhzani,  '  to  strike  on  the  road  '  (rah).  Rdhbar,  '  on  the  road,'  corrupted 
by  the  Pindaris  to  labar,  the  designation  of  their  forays.  [The  true  name 
is  Sahariya,  which  has  been  connected  with  that  of  the  Savara,  a  tribe  in 
Eastern  India.  Saracen  comes  to  us  from  the  late  Latin  Saraceni,oi  which 
the  origin  is  unknown  ;  it  cannot  be  derived  from  the  Arabic  Sharqi, 
'  eastern  '  (see  New  English  Dictionary,  s.v.).] 


22  GEOGRAPHY  OF  RAJASTHAN 

I  will  not  touch  on  the  salt  lakes  or  natron  beds,  or  the  other 
products  of  the  desert,  vegetable  or  mineral  ;  though  the  latter 
might  soon  be  described,  being  confined  to  the  jasper  rock  near 
Jaisalmer,  which  has  been  much  used  in  the  beautiful  arabesques 
of  that  fairy  fabric,  at  Agra,  the  mausoleum  of  Shah  Jahan's 
queen. 

Neither  shall  I  describe  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  or  that  portion 
eastward  of  the  stream,  the  termination  of  the  sand  ridges  of  the 
desert.  I  will  inerely  remark,  that  the  small  stream  which 
breaks  from  the  Indus  at  Dara,  seven  miles  north  of  the  insulated 
Bakhar,  and  falls  into  the  ocean  at  Lakhpat,  shows  the  breadth 
of  this  eastern  portion  of  the  valley,  which  forms  the  western 
boundary  of  the  desert.  A  traveller  proceeding  from  the  Khichi 
or  flats  of  Sind  to  the  east,  sees  the  line  of  the  desert  distinctly 
marked,  with  its  elevated  tibas  or  sand  ridges  under  which  flows 
the  Sankra,  which  is  generally  dry  except  at  periodical  inunda- 
tions. These  sand-hills  are  of  considerable  elevation,  and  may 
be  considered  the  limit  of  the  inundation  of  the  '  sweet  river,' 
the  Mitha  Maran,  a  Scythic  or  Tatar  name  for  river,  and  by  which 
alone  the  Indus  is  known,  from  the  Panjnad  ^  to  the  ocean  [20]. 

^  The  confluent  arms  or  sources  of  the  Indus. 


BOOK  II 
HISTORY   OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

CHAPTER   1 

The  Puranas. — Being  desirous  of  epitomizing  the  chronicles  of 
the  martial  races  of  Central  and  Western  India,  it  was  essential  to 
ascertain  the  sources  whence  they  draw,  or  claim  to  draw,  their 
lineage.  For  this  purpose  I  obtained  from  the  library  of  the 
Rana  of  Udaipur  their  sacred  volumes,  the  Puranas,  and  laid 
them  before  a  body  of  pandits,  over  whom  presided  the  learned 
Jati  Gyanchandra.  From  these  extracts  were  made  of  all  the 
genealogies  of  the  great  races  of  Surya  and  Chandra,  and  of  facts 
historical  and  geographical. 

Most  of  the  Puranas  ^  contain  portions  of  historical  as  well  as 
geographical  knowledge  ;  but  the  Bhagavat,  the  Skanda,  the  I 
Agni,  and  the  Bhavishya  are  the  chief  guides.  It  is  rather  j 
fortunate  than  to  be  regretted  that  their  chronologies  do  not 
perfectly  agxee.  The  number  of  princes  in  each  line  varies,  and 
names  are  transposed  ;  but  we  recognize  distinctly  the  principal 
features  in  each,  affording  the  conclusion  that  they  are  the 
productions  of  various  writers,  borrowing  from  some  common 
original  source  [21]. 

^  "  Every  Parana,"  says  the  first  authority  existing  in  Sanskrit  lore, 
"  treats  of  five  subjects  :  the  creation  of  the  universe  ;  its  progress,  and  the 
renovation  of  the  world  ;  the  genealogy  of  gods  and  heroes  ;  chronology, 
according  to  a  fabulous  system  ;  and  heroic  history,  containing  the  achieve- 
ments of  demi-gods  and  heroes.  Since  each  purana  contains  a  cosmogony, 
both  mythological  and  heroic  history,  the  works  which  bear  that  title  may 
not  unaptly  be  compared  to  the  Grecian  theogonies "  ('Essay  on  the 
Sanskrit  and  Pracrit  Languages,'  by  H.  T.  Colebrooke,  Esq.  ;  As.  Res. 
vol.  vii.  p.  202).     [On  the  age  of  the  Puranas  see  Smith,  EHI,  21  if.] 

23 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Deluge  Legend. — The  Genesis  ^  of  India  commences  with  an 
event  described  in  the  history  of  almost  all  nations,  the  deluge, 
which,  though  treated  with  the  fancy  peculiar  to  the  orientals,  is 
not  the  less  entitled  to  attention.  The  essence  of  the  extract 
from  the  Agni  Pur  ana  is  this  :  "  When  ocean  quitted  his  bounds 
and  caused  universal  destruction  by  Brahma's  command,  Vaiva- 
swata  ^  Manu  (Noah),  who  dwelt  near  the  Himalaya  ^  mountains 
was  giving  water  to  the  gods  in  the  Kritamala  river,  when  a  small 
fish  fell  into  his  hand.  A  voice  commanded  him  to  preserve  it. 
The  fish  expanded  to  an  enormous  size.  Manu,  with  his  sons 
and  their  wives,  and  the  sages,  with  the  seed  of  every  living  thing, 
entered  into  a  vessel  which  was  fastened  to  a  horn  on  the  head  of 
the  fish,  and  thus  they  were  preser-fed." 

Here,  then,  the  grand  northern  chain  is  given  to  which  the 
abode  of  the  great  patriarch  of  mankind  approximated.  In  the 
Bhavishya  it  is  stated,  that  "  Vaivaswata  (sun-born)  Manu  ruled 
at  the  mountain  Sumeru.  Of  his  seed  was  Kakutstha  Raja, 
who  obtained  sovereignty  at  Ayodhya,*  and  his  descendants 
filled  the  land  and  spread  over  the  earth." 

I  am  aware  of  the  meaning  given  to  Sumeru,  that  thus  the 
Hindus  designated  the  north  pole  of  the  earth.  But  they  had 
also  a  mountain  with  this  same  appellation  of  pre-eminence  of 
Meru,  '  the  hill,'  with  the  prefix  Su,  '  good,  sacred  '  :  the  Sacred 
Hill. 

Meru,  Sumeru. — In  the  geography  of  the  Agni  Purana,  the 
term  is  used  as  a  substantial  geographical  limit  ;  ^    and  some  of 

^  Resolvable  into  Sanskrit,  janarn,  '  birth,'  and  is  and  iswar,  '  lords  ' 
\jyivw,  yl-yvofiai,  Skr.  root  jan,  '  to  generate  ']. 

^  Son  of  the  sun. 

^  The  snowy  Caucasus.  Sir  WiUiara  Jones,  in  an  extract  from  a  work 
entitled  Essence  of  the  Pooranas,  says  that  this  event  took  place  at  Dravira 
in  the  Deccan. 

*  The  present  Ajodhya,  capital  of  one  of  the  twenty-two  satrapies  con- 
stituting the  Mogul  Empire,  and  for  some  generations  held  by  the  titular 
Vizir,  who  has  recently  assumed  the  regal  title.  [Ghaziu-d-din  Haidar  in 
1819.] 

*  "  To  the  south  of  Sumeru  are  the  mountains  Himavan,  Hemakuta, 
and  Nishadha  ;  to  the  north  are  the  countries  Nil,  Sveta,  and  Sringi. 
Between  Hemachal  and  the  ocean  the  land  is  Bharatkhand,  called  Kukarraa 
Bhumi  (land  of  vice,  opposed  to  Aryavarta,  or  land  of  virtue),  in  which  the 
seven  grand  ranges  are  Mahendra,  Malaya,  Sahya,  Suktimat,  Riksha, 
Vindhya,  and  Paripatra  "  {Agni  Purana). 


EARLY  TRADITIONS  25 

the  rivers  flowing  from  the  mountainous  ranges,  whose  relative 
position  with  Sumeru  are  thei'e  defined,  still  retain  their  ancient 
appellations.  Let  us  not  darken  the  subject,  by  supposing  only 
allegorical  meanings  attached  to  explicit  points.  In  the  distribu- 
tion of  their  seven  dwipas,  or  continents,  though  they  interpose 
seas  of  curds,  milk,  or  wine,  we  should  not  reject  strong  and 
evident  facts,  because  subsequent  ignorant  interpolators  filled 
up  the  page  with  puerilities  [22]. 

This  sacred  mountain  (Sumeru)  is  claimed  by  the  Brahmans 
as  the  abode  of  Mahadeva,^  Adiswar,^  or  Baghes  ' ;  by  the  Jains, 
as  the  abode  of  Adinath,*  the  first  Jiniswara,  or  Jain  lord.  Here 
they  say  he  taught  mankind  the  arts  of  agriculture  and  civilized 
life.  The  Greeks  claimed  it  as  the  abode  of  Bacchus  ;  and  hence 
the  Grecian  fable  of  this  god  being  taken  from  the  thigh  of  Jupiter, 
confounding  rncros  (thigh)  with  the  merii  (hill)  of  this  Indian 
deity.  In  this  vicinity  the  followers  of  Alexander  had  their 
Saturnalia,  drank  to  excess  of  the  wine  from  its  indigenous  vines, 
and  bound  their  brows  with  ivy  (vela)  ^  sacred  to  the  Baghes  of  the 
east  and  west,  whose  votaries  alike  indulge  in  '  strong  drink.' 

These  traditions  appear  to  point  to  one  spot,  and  to  one 
individual,  in  the  early  history  of  mankind,  when  the  Hindu  and 
the  Greek  approach  a  common  focus  ;  for  there  is  little  doubt 
that  Adinath,  Adiswara,  Osiris,  Baghes,  Bacchus,  Manu,  Menes 
designate  the  patriarch  of  majjikind,  Noah. 

The  Hindus  can  at  this  time  give  only  a  very  general  idea  of 
the  site  of  Meru  ;  but  they  appear  to  localize  it  in  a  space  of 
which  Bamian,  Kabul,  and  Ghazni  would  be  the  exterior  points. 
The  former  of  these  cities  is  Known  to  possess  remains  of  the 

^  The  Creator,  literally  '  the  Great  God. 

2  The  '  first  lord.' 

^  Baghes,  '  the  tiger  lord.  He  wears  a  tiger's  or  panther's  hide  ;  which 
he  places  beneath  him.  So  Bacchus  did.  The  phallus  is  the  emblem  of 
each.  Baghes  has  several  temples  in  Mewar.  [In  identifying  Bacchus  with 
a  Hindu  tiger  god  the  author  depended  on  Asiatic  Researches,  i.  258,  viii.  51. 
For  the  Greek  story  in  the  text  see  Quintus  Curtius  viii.  10;  Diodorus  iii.  63; 
Arrian,  Anabasis,  vii.] 

*  First  lord. 

'  Vela  is  the  general  term  for  a  climber,  sacred  to  the  Indian  Bacchus 
(Baghes,  Adiswara,  or  Mahadeva),  whose  priests,  following  his  example, 
are  fond  of  intoxicating  beverages,  or  drugs.  The  amarbel,  or  immortal 
vela,  is  a  noble  cUmber. 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

religion  of  Buddha,  in  its  caves  and  colossal  statues.^  The 
Paropamisaa  Alexandria  is  near  Baniian ;  but  the  Meru  and 
Nyssa  ^  of  Alexander  are  placed  more  to  the  eastward  by  the 
jGreek  writers,  and  according  to  the  cautious  Arrian  between 
the  Cophas  and  Indus.  Authority  localizes  it  between  Peshawar 
and  Jalalabad,  and  calls  it  Merkoh,  or  Markoh,*  "  a  bare  rock 
2000  feet  high  [23]  with  caves  to  the  westward,  termed  Bedaulat 
by  the  Emperor  Humayun  from  its  dismal  appearance."  *     This 

^  ["  In  the  Tuman  of  Zohak  and  Bamiiin,  the  fortress  of  Zohak  is  a 
monument  of  great  antiquity,  and  in  good  preservation,  but  the  fort  of 
Bamian  is  in  ruins.  In  the  mountain -side  caves  have  been  excavated  and 
ornamented  with  plaster  and  paintings.  Of  these  there  are  12,000  which 
are  called  Sumaj,  and  in  former  times  were  used  by  the  people  as  winter 
retreats.  Three  colossal  figures  are  here  :  one  is  the  statue  of  a  man, 
80  yards  in  height ;  another  that  of  a  woman,  50  yards  high,  and  the  third 
that  of  a  child  measuring  15  yards.  Strange  to  relate,  in  one  of  the  caves 
is  placed  a  coffin  containing  the  body  of  one  who  reposes  in  his  last  sleep. 
The  oldest  and  most  learned  of  antiquarians  can  give  no  account  of  its 
origin,  but  suppose  it  to  be  of  great  antiquity.  In  days  of  old  the  ancients 
prepared  a  medicament  with  which  they  anointed  corpses  and  consigned 
them  to  earth  in  a  hard  soil.  The  simple,  deceived  by  this  art,  attribute 
their  preservation  to  a  miracle  "  {Ain,  ii.  409  f.,  with  Jarrett's  notes).  For 
Bamian  see  EB,  iii.  304  f.] 

2  Nishadha  is  mentioned  in  the  Parana  as  a  mountain.  If  in  the  genitive 
case  (which  the  final  syllable  marks),  it  would  be  a  local  term  given  from 
the  city  of  Nissa.  [Nysa  has  no  connexion  with  Nishadha.  It  probably 
lay  near  Jalalabad  or  Koh-i  Mor  (Smith^HI,  53).] 

*  Meru,  Sanskrit,  and  Koh,  Persian,  for  a  '  hiU.' 

*  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vi.  p.  497.  Wilford  appears  to  have  borrowed 
largely  from  that  ancient  store-house  (as  the  Hindu  would  call  it)  of  learning. 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  History  of  the  World.  He  combines,  however,  mucli  of 
what  that  great  man  had  so  singularly  acquired  and  condensed,  with  what 
he  himself  collected,  and  with  the  aid  of  imagination  has  formed  a  curious 
mosaic.  But  when  he  took  a  peep  into  "  the  chorographical  description  of 
the  Terrestrial  Paradise,"  I  am  surprised  he  did  not  separate  the  nurseries 
of  mankind  before  and  after  the  flood.  There  is  one  passage,  also,  of  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  which  would  have  aided  his  hypothesis,  that  Eden  was  in 
Higher  Asia,  between  the  common  sources  of  the  Jihun  and  other  grand 
rivers  :  the  abundance  of  the  Ficus  Indica,  or  bar-tree,  sacred  to  the  first 
lord,  Adnath  or  Mahadeva. 

"  Now  for  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  some  men  have  pre- 
sumed further  ;  especially  Gorapius  Bocanus,  who  giveth  liimself  the  honour 
to  have  found  out  the  kind  of  this  tree,  which  none  of  the  writers  of  former 
times  could  ever  guess  at,  whereat  Gorapius  much  marvelleth." 

"  Both  together  went 

Into  the  thickest  v/ood ;  there  soon  they  chose 


EARLY  TRADITIONS  27 

designation,  however,  of  Dasht-i  Bedaulat,  or  '  unhappy  plain,' 
was  given  to  the  tract  between  the  cities  beforementioned  [24]. 
The  only  scope  of  these  remarks  on  Sumeru  is  to  show  that 

The  fig  tree ;  not  that  kind  for  fruit  renowned. 
But  such  as  at  this  day,  to  Indians  known 
In  Malabar  or  Decan,  spreads  her  arms 
Branching  so  broad  and  long,  that  in  the  ground 
The  bended  twigs  take  root,  and  daughters  grow 
About  the  mother  tree,  a  pillar'd  shade 
High  overarched,  and  echoing  walks  between. 
There  oft  the  Indian  herdsman,  shunning  heat, 
Shelters  in  cool  and  tends  his  pasturing  herds." 

"  Those  leaves 

They  gathered,  broad  as  Amazonian  targe." 

Paradise  Lost,  Book  ix.  1100  ff. 

Sir  V/alter  strongly  supports  the  Hindu  hypothesis  regarding  the  locality 
of  the  nursery  for  rearing  mankind,  and  that  "  India  was  the  first  planted 
and  peopled  countrie  after  the  flood  "  (p.  99).  His  first  argument  is,  that 
it  was  a  place  where  the  vine  and  olive  were  indigenous,  as  amongst  the 
Sakai  Scythai  (and  as  they  still  are,  together  with  oats,  between  Kabul  and 
Bamian) ;  and  that  Ararat  could  not  be  in  Armenia,  because  the  Gordian 
mountains  on  which  the  ark  rested  were  in  longitude  75°,  and  the  VaUey  of 
Shinar  79°  to  80°,  which  would  be  reversing  the  tide  of  migration.  "As 
they  journeyed  from  the  East,  they  found  a  plain,  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  and 
they  dwelt  there  "  (Genesis,  chap.  xi.  ver.  2).  He  adds,  "  Ararat,  named 
by  Moses,  is  not  any  one  hill,  but  a  general  term  for  the  great  Caucasian 
range  ;  therefore  we  must  blow  up  this  mountain  Ararat,  or  dig  it  down 
and  carry  it  out  of  Armenia,  or  find  it  elsewhere  in  a  warmer  country,  and 
east  from  Shinar."  He  therefore  places  it  in  Indo-Scythia,  in  140°  of 
longitude  and  35°  to  37°  of  latitude,  "  where  the  mountains  do  build  them- 
selves exceeding  high  "  :  and  concludes,  "  It  was  in  the  plentiful  warm  East 
where  Noah  rested,  where  he  planted  the  viae,  where  he  tilled  the  ground 
and  hved  thereon.  Placuit  vero  Noacho  agricultur£e  studium  in  qua  trac- 
tanda  ipse  omnium  peritissimus  esse  dicitur ;  ob  eamque  rem,  sua  ipsius 
lingua,  Ish-Adamath  :  *  hoc  est,  Telluris  Vir,  appellatur,  celebratusque  est. 
The  study  of  husbandry  pleased  Noah  (says  the  excellent  learned  man,  Arius 
Montanus)  in  the  order  and  knowledge  of  which  it  is  said  that  Noah  excelled 
all  men,  and  therefore  was  he  called  in  his  own  language,  a  man  exercised  in 
the  earth."      The  title,  character,  and  abode  exactly  suit  the  description 

*  In  Sanskrit,  Ish,  '  Lord,'  adi,  '  the  first,'  matti,  '  Earth.'  [The  deriva- 
tion is  absurd  :  matti,  '  clay,'  is  modern  Hindi.]  Here  the  Sanskrit  and 
Hebrew  have  the  same  meaning,  '  first  lord  of  the  earth.'  In  these  remote 
Rajput  regions,  where  early  manners  and  language  remain,  the  strongest 
phrase  to  denote  a  man  or  human  being  is  literally  '  earth.'  A  chief  de- 
scribing a  fray  between  his  own  followers  and  borderers  whence  death 
ensued,  says,  Meri  matti  mdri,  '  My  earth  has  been  struck  '  :  a  phrase 
requiring  no  comment,  and  denoting  that  he  must  have  blood  in  return. 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

the  Hindus  themselves  do  not  make  India  within  the  Indus  the 
cradle  of  their  race,  but  west,  amidst  the  hills  of  Caucasus,' 
whence  the  sons  of  Vaivaswata,  or  the  '  sun-born,'  migrated 
eastward  to  the  Indus  and  Ganges,  and  founded  their  first  estab- 
lishment in  Kosala,  the  capital,  Ayodhya,  or  Oudh. 

Most  nations  have  indulged  the  desire  of  fixing  the  source 
whence  they  issued,  and  few  spots  possess  more  interest  than 
this  elevated  Madhya-Bhumi,  or  '  central  region  '  of  Asia,  where 
the  Amu,  Oxus,  or  Jihun,  and  other  rivers,  have  their  rise,  and  in 
which  both  the  Surya  and  Indu  *  races  (Sakha)  claim  the  hill,' 

the  Jains  give  of  their  first  Jiniswara,  Adinath,  the  first  lordly  man,  who 
taught  them  agriculture,  even  to  "  muzzling  the  bull  in  treading  out  the  corn." 

Had  Sir  Walter  been  aware  that  the  Hindu  sacred  books  styled  their 
country  Aryavarta,*  and  of  which  the  great  Imaus  is  the  northern  boundary, 
he  would  doubtless  have  seized  it  for  his  Ararat.  [Needless  to  say,  these 
speculations  are  obsolete.] 

^  Hindu,  or  Indu-kush  or  koh,  is  the  local  appellation  ;  '  mountain  of 
the  moon.'  [Hindu-kush  is  said  to  mean  '  Hindu-slayer '  or  '  Indian 
Caucasus.']  ^  Solar  and  lunar. 

*  Meru,  '  the  hill,'  is  used  distinctively,  as  in  Jaisalmer  (the  capital  of  the 
Bhatti  tribe  in  the  Western  Desert),  '  the  hill  of  Jaisal '  ;  Merwara,  or  the 
'  mountainous  region  '  ;  and  its  inhabitants  Meras,  or  '  mountaineers.' 
Thus,  also,  in  the  grand  epic  the  Ramayana  (Book  i.  p.  236),  Mena  is  the 
mountain-nymph,  the  daughter  of  Meru  and  spouse  of  Himavat ;  from 
whom  sprung  two  daughters,  the  river  goddess  Ganga  and  the  mountain- 
nymph  Parbati.  She  is,  in  the  Mahabharata,  also  termed  Saila,  the  daughter 
of  Sail,  another  designation  of  the  snowy  chain  ;  and  hence  mountain 
streams  are  called  in  Sanskrit  sillelee  [?].  Saila  bears  the  same  attributes 
with  the  Phrygian  Cybele,  who  was  also  the  daughter  of  a  mountain  of  the 
same  name  ;  the  one  is  carried,  the  other  drawn,  by  lions.  Thus  the  Greeks 
also  metamorphosed  Parbat  Pamer,  or  '  the  mountain  Pamer,'  into  Paro- 
pamisan,  apphed  to  the  Hindu  Koh  west  of  Bamian  :  but  the  Parbat  pat 
Pamer,  or  '  Pamer  chief  of  hills,'  is  mentioned  by  the  bard  Chand  as  being 
far  cast  of  that  tract,  and  under  it  resided  Hamira,  one  of  the  great  feuda- 
tories of  Prithwiraja  of  Delhi.  Had  it  been  Paropanisan  (as  some  authorities 
write  it),  it  would  better  accord  with  the  locality  where  it  takes  up  the  name, 
being  near  to'Nyssa  and  Meru,  of  which  Parbat  or  Pahar  would  be  a  version, 
and  form  Paronisan,  '  the  Mountain  of  Nyssa,'  the  range  Nishadha  of  the 
Puranas.     [The  true  form   is   Paropanisos :    the   suggested   derivation   is 

impossible.] 

. ^ 

*  Afydvarta,  or  the  land  of  promise  or  virtue,  cannot  extend  to  the  flat 
plains  of  India  south  of  the  Himavat  ;  for  this  is  styled  in  the  Puranas  the 
very  reverse,  kukarma  des,  or  land  of  vice.  [Aryavarta  is  the  land  bounded 
by  the  Himalaya  and  Vindhya,  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  seas  (Manu, 
Laws,  ii.  22).] 


EARLY  TRADITIONS  :   GENEALOGIES  29 

sacred  to  a  great  patriarchal  ancestor,  whence  they  migrated 
eastward. 

The  Rajput  tribes  could  scarcely  have  acquired  some  of  their 
still  existing  Scythic  habits  and  warlike  superstitions  on  the 
burning  plains  of  Ind  It  was  too  hot  to  hail  with  fervent  adora- 
tion the  return  of  the  sun  from  his  southern  course  to  enliven  the 
northern  hemisphere.  This  should  be  the  religion  of  a  colder 
clime,  brought  from  their  first  haunts,  the  sources  of  the  Jihim 
and  Jaxartes.  The  grand  solstitial  festival,  the  Aswamedha,  or 
sacrifice  of  the  horse  (the  type  of  the  sun),  practised  by  the 
children  of  Vaivaswata,  the  '  sun-born,'  was  most  probably 
simultaneously  introduced  from  Scythia  into  the  plains  of  Ind, 
and  west,  by  the  sons  of  Odin,  Woden,  or  Budha,  into  Scandinavia, 
where  it  became  the  Hi-el  or  Hi-ul,^  the  festival  of  the  winter 
solstice  ;  the  grand  jubilee  of  northern  nations,  and  in  the  first 
ages  of  Christianity,  being  so  near  the  epoch  of  its  rise,  gladly 
used  by  the  first  fathers  of  the  church  to  perpetuate  that 
event-  [25|, 

CHAPTER  2 

Puranie  Genealogies. — The  chronicles  of  the  Bhagavat  and  Agni, 
containing  the  genealogies  of  the  Surya  (sun)  and  Indu  [moon) 
races,  shall  now  be  examined.  The  first  of  these,  by  calculation, 
brings  down  the  chain  to  a  period  six  centuries  subsequent  to 
Vikramaditya  (a.d.  650),  so  that  these  books  may  have  beeiV 
remodelled  or  commented  on  about  this  period  :  their  fabrication' 
cannot  be  supposed. 

Althovigh  portions  of  these  genealogies  by  Sir  William  Jones, 
Mr.  Bentley,  and  Colonel  Wilford,  have  appeared  in  the  volumes  of 
the  Asiatic  Researches,  yet  no  one  should  rest  satisfied  with  the 
inquiries  of  others,  if  by  any  process  he  can  reach  the  fountain- 
head  himself. 

If,  after  all,  these  are  fabricated  genealogies  of  tbe  ancient 

^  Ilaya  or  Hi,  in  Sanskrit,  '  horse  ' — El,  '  sun  '  :  whence  ittttos  and  rJ\(os. 
HX  appears  to  have  been  a  term  of  Scythian  origin  for  the  sun  ;  and  Hari, 
the  Indian  Apollo,  is  addressed  as  the  sun.  Hiul,  or  Jul,  of  northern  nations 
(qu.  Noel  of  France  ?),  is  the  Hindu  Sankranti,  of  which  more  will  be  said 
hereafter.  [The  feast  was  known  as  Hvil,  .Tnl,  or  Yule,  and  the  suggested 
derivation  is  impossible.] 

*  Mallet's  Northern  Antiquities. 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

families  of  India,  the  fabrication  is  of  ancient  date,  and  they  are 
all  they  know  themselves  upon  the  subject.  The  step  next  in 
importance  to  obtaining  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  genuine 
early  history  of  nations,  is  to  learn  Avhat  those  nations  repute 
to  be  such. 

I  Doubtless  the  original  Puranas  contained  much  valuable 
historical  matter  ;  but,  at  present,  it  is  difficult  to  separate  a 
little  pure  metal  from  the  base  alloy  of  ignorant  expounders  and 
interpolators.  I  have  but  skimmed  the  surface  :  research,  to 
the  capable,  may  yet  be  rewarded  by  many  isolated  facts  and 
important  transactions,  now  hid  under  the  veil  of  ignorance  and 
allegory. 

Neglect  of  History  by  the  Hindus. — The  Hindus,  with  the  de- 
crease of  intellectual  power,  their  possession  of  which  is  evinced 
by  their  architectural  remains,  where  just  proportion  and  elegant 
mythological  device  are  still  visible,  lost  the  relish  for  the  beauty 
of  truth,  and  adopted  the  monstrous  in  their  writings  as  well  as 
their  edifices.  But  for  detection  and  shame,  matters  of  history 
would  be  hideously  distorted  even  in  civilized  Europe  ;  but  in 
the  East,  in  the  moral  decrepitude  of  ancient  Asia,  with  no  judge 
to  condemn,  no  public  to  praise,  each  priestly  expounder  may 
revel  in  a:n  unfettered  imagination,  and  reckon  his  admirers  in 
proportion  to  the  mixture  of  the  marvellous  ^  [26].  Plain  histori- 
cal truths  have  long  ceased  to  interest  this  artificially  fed  people. 

If  at  such  a  comparatively  modern  period  as  the  third  century 
before  Christ,  the  Babylonian  historian  Berosus  composed  his 
fictions,  which  assigned  to  that  monarchy  such  incredible  anti- 
quity, it  became  capable  of  refutation  from  the  many  historians 
of  repute  who  preceded  him.  But  on  the  fabulist  of  India  we 
have  no  such  check.  If  Vyasa  himself  penned  these  legends  as 
now  existing,  then  is  the  stream  of  knowledge  corrupt  from  the 
fountain-head.  If  such  the  source,  the  stream,  filtering  through 
ages  of  ignorance,  has  only  been  increased  by  fresh  impurities. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  arts  and  sciences  could  advance, 

^  The  celebrated  Goguet  remarks  on  the  ii'.adness  of  most  nations  pre- 
tending to  trace  their  origin  to  infinity.  The  Babylonians,  the  Egyptians, 
and  the  Scythians,  particularly,  piqued  themselves  on  their  high  antiquity, 
and  the  first  assimilate  with- the  Hindus  in  boasting  they  had  observed  the 
course  of  the  stars  473,000  years.  Each  heaped  ages  on  ages  ;  but  the 
foundations  of  this  pretended  antiquity  are  not  supported  by  probability, 
and  are  even  of  modern  invention  (Origin  of  Laws). 


PURANIC  GENEALOGIES  31 

when  it  is  held  impious  to  doubt  the  truth  of  whatever  has  been 
handed  down,  and  still  more  to  suppose  that  the  degenerate  could 
improve  thereon.  The  highest  ambition  of  the  present  learned 
priesthood,  generation  after  generation,  is  to  be  able  to  compre- 
hend what  has  thus  reached  them,  and  to  form  commentaries 
upon  past  wisdom  ;  v>'hich  commentaries  are  commented  on  ad  J 
infinitum.  \Mioever  dare  now  aspire  to  improve  thereon  mustj 
keep  the  secret  in  his  own  breast.  They  are  but  the  expounders 
of  the  olden  oracles  ;  were  they  more  they  would  be  infidels. 
But  this  could  not  always  Imve  been  the  case.  ^ 

With  the  Hindus,  as  with  other  nations,  the  progress  to  the 
heights  of  science  they  attained  must  have  been  gradual  ;  unless 
we  take  from  them  the  merit  of  original  invention,  and  set  them 
down  as  borrowers  of  a  system.  These  slavish  fetters  of  the 
mind  must  have  been  forged  at  a  later  period,  and  it  is  fair  to 
infer  that  the  monopoly  of  science  and  religion  was  simultaneous. 
What  must  be  the  effect  of  such  monopoly  on  the  impulses  and 
operations  of  the  understanding  ?  Where  such  exists,  knowledge 
could  not  long  remain  stationary' ;  it  must  perforce  retrograde. 
Could  we  but  discover  the  period  when  religion  ^  ceased  to  be  a 
profession  [27]  and  became  hereditary  (and  that  such  there  was 
these  very  genealogies  bear  evidence),  we  might  approximate  the 
era  when  science  attained  its  height. 

The  Priestly  Office. — In  the  early  ages  of  these  Solar  and  Lunar 
dynasties,  the  priestly  office  was  not  hereditary  in  families  ;  it 
was  a  profession  ;  and  the  genealogies  exhibit  frequent  instances 
of  branches  of  these  races  terminating  their  martial  career  in  the 

^  It  has  been  said  that  the  Brahmanical  religion  was  foreign  to  India  ; 
but  as  to  the  period  of  importation  we  have  but  loose  assertion.     We  can 
easily  give  credit  to  various  creeds  and  tenets  of  faith  being  from  time  to 
time  incorporated,  ere  the  present  books  were  composed,  and  that  previously 
the  sons  of  royalty  alone  possessed  the  office.     Authorities  of  weight  infonn  t 
us  of  these  grafts  ;    for  instance,  Mr.  Colebrooke  gives  a  passage  in  his  I 
Indian  Classes :    "  A  chief  of  the  twice-bom  tribe  was  brought  by  Vishnu's  j  "it 
eagle  from  Saca  Dwipa  ;  hence  Saca  Dwipa  Brahmins  were  known  in  Jambu  1 
Dwipa."     By  Saka  Dwipa,  Scythia  is  understood,  of  which  more  will  be  ' 
said  hereafter.     Ferishta  also,  translating  from  ancient  authorities,  says, 
to  the  same  effect,  that  "  in  the  reign  of  Mahraje,  King  of  Canouj,  a  Brahmin  ' 
came  from  Persia,  who  introduced  magic,  idolatry,  and  the  worship  of  tlie 
stars  "  ;   so  that  there  is  no  want  of  authority  for  the  introduction  of  new 
tenets  of  faith.     [The  passage,  inaccurately  quoted,  is  taken  from  Dow  i.  16. 
See  Briggs's  translation,  i.  Introd.  Ixviii.] 


7f 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

commencement  of  a  religions  sect,  or  gotra,  and  of  their  descend- 
ants reassuming  their  warhke  occupations.  Thus,  of  the  ten 
sons  of  Ikshwaku,^  three  are  represented  as  abandoning  worldly 
affairs  and  taking  to  religion  ;  and  one  of  these,  Kanina,  is  said  to 
be  the  first  who  made  an  agnihotra,  or  pyreum,  and  worshipped 
fire,  while  another  son  embraced  commerce.  Of  the  Lunar  line 
and  the  six  sons  of  Pururavas,  the  name  of  the  fourth  was  Raya ; 
"  from  him  the  fifteenth  generation  was  Harita,  who  with  his 
eight  brothers  took  to  the  office  of  religion,  and  established  the 
Kausika  Gotra,  or  tribe  of  Brahmans." 

From  the  twenty-fourth  prince  in  lineal  descent  from  Yayati, 
by  name  Bharadwaja,  originated  a  celebrated  sect,  who  still 
bear  his  name,  and  are  the  spiritual  teachers  of  several  Rajput 
tribes. 

Of  the  twenty-sixth  prince,  Manava,  two  sons  devoted  them- 
selves to  religion,  and  established  celebrated  sects,  viz.  Mahavira, 
whose  descendants  were  the  Pushkar  Brahmans  ;  and  Sankriti. 
whose  issue  were  learned  in  the  Vedas  From  the  line  of  Ajamidha 
these  ministers  of  religion  were  continually  branching  off. 

In  the  very  early  periods,  the  princes  of  the  Solar  line,  like  the 
Egyptians  and  Romans,  combined  the  offices  of  the  priesthood 
with  kingly  power,  and  this  whether  Brahmanical  or  Buddhist.* 
Many  of  the  royal  line,  before  and  subsequent  to  Rama,  passed 
great  part  of  their  lives  as  ascetics  ;  and  in  ancient  sculpture  and 
drawings  the  head  is  as  often  adorned  with  the  braided  lock  of 
the  ascetic  as  with  the  diadem  of  royalty.* 

The  greatest  monarchs  bestowed  their  daughters  on  these 
royal  hermits  and  sages  [28].  Ahalya,  the  daughter  of  the  power- 
ful Panchala,*  became  the  wife  of  the  ascetic  Gautama.  Tlie 
sage  .Jamadagni  espoused  the  daughter  of  Sahasra  '^  Arjuna,  of 

^  Sec  Table  T.  [now  obsolete,  not  reprinted]. 

^  Some  of  the  earlier  of  the  twenty-four  Tirthakaras,  or  Jain  hierarchs, 
trace  their  origin  from  the  solar  race  of  princes.  [As  usual,  Buchlhisni 
confused  with  Jainism.] 

'  Even  now  the  Rana  of  Mewar  mingles  sj^iritual  duties  with  those  of 
royalty,  and  when  he  attends  the  temple  of  the  tutelary  deity  of  his  race, 
he  performs  himself  all  the  offices  of  the  high  priest  for  the  day.  In  this 
point  a  strong  resemblance  exists  to  many  of  the  races  of  antiquity. 

■•  Prince  of  the  country  of  Panjab,  or  five  streams  east  of  the  Indus. 
[Panchrda  was  in  the  Ganges-Jumna  Duab  and  its  neighbourhood.] 

''  The  legend  of  this  monarch  stealing  his  son-in-law's,  the  hermit's,  cow 
(of  which  the  Ramayana  gives  another  version),  the  incarnation  of  Para- 


PURANIC  GENEALOGIES  33 

Mahishmat,'  king  of  the  Haihaya  tribe,  a  great  branch  of  the 
Yadu  race. 

Among  the  Egyptians,  according  to  Herodotus  [ii.  87,  141],  the 
priests  succeeded  to  sovereignty,  as  they  and  the  mihtary  class 
alone  could  hold  lands ;  and  Sethos,  the  priest  of  Vulcan,  caused 
a  revolution,  by  depriving  the  military  of  their  estates. 

We  have  various  instances  in  India  of  the  Brahmans  from 
Jamadagni  to  the  Mahratta  Peshwa,  contesting  for  sovereignty  ; 
power  *  and  homage  being  still  their  great  aim,  as  in  the  days  of 
Vishvamitra  ^  and  Vasishtha,  the  royal  sages  [29]  whom  "  Janaka 

suram,  son  of  Jamadagni,  and  his  exploits,  appear  purely  allegorical,  signify- 
ing the  violence  and  oj)pression  of  royalty  over  the  earth  (prithivi),  personified 
by  the  sacred  gao,  or  cow^  and  that  the  Brahmans  were  enabled  to 'wrest 
royalty  from  the  martial  tribe,  shows  how  they  had  multiplied. 

On  the  derivatives  from  the  word  gao,  I  venture  an  etymologj^  for  others 
to  pursue  : 

I'AI A,  yia,  yij  (Dor.  7a),  that  which  produces  aU  things  (from  ydoj,  genero) ; 
the  earth. — Jones's  Dictionary. 

TAAA,  IVIilk.  Gaola,  Herdsman,  in  Sanskrit.  VaXariKoi,  KeXroL, 
Galatians,  or  Gauls,  and  Celts  (allowed  to  be  the  same)  would  be  the  shep- 
herd races,  the  pastoral  invaders  of  Europe  [?]. 

^  Maheswar,  on  the  Nerbudda  River. 

^  Hindustan  abounds  with  Brahmans,  who  make  excellent  soldiers,  as 
far  as  bravery  is  a  virtue  ;  but  our  oflficers  are  cautious,  from  experience,  of 
admitting  too  many  into  a  troop  or  company,  for  they  still  retain  their 
intriguing  habits.  I  have  seen  nearly  as  many  of  the  Brahmans  as  of 
mihtary  in  some  companies ;  a  dangerous  error  [reaUzed  in  the  Great 
Mutiny].  ; 

*  The  Brahman  Vasishtha  possessed  a  cow  named  Savala,  so  fruitful  that 
with  her  assistance  he  could  accomplish  whatever  he  desired.  By  her  aid 
he  entertained  King  Vishvamitra  and  his  army.  It  is  evident  that  this  cow 
denotes  some  tract  of  country  which  the  priest  held  (bearing  in  mind  that 
gao,  prithivi,  signify  '  the  earth,'  as  well  as  '  cow  ')  :  a  grant,  beyond  doubt, 
by  some  of  Vishvamitra's  unwise  ancestors,  and  which  he  wislied  to  resume. 
From  her  were  suppUed  "  the  oblations  to  the  gods  and  the  pitrideva  (father- 
gods,  or  ancestors),  the  perpetual  sacrificial  fire,  the  burnt-oli'erings  and 
sacrifices."  This  was  "  the  fountain  of  devotional  acts  "  ;  this  was  the 
Savala  for  which  the  king  offered  "  a  hundred  thousand  cows  "  ;  this  was 
"  the  jewel  of  which  a  king  only  should  be  proprietor." — The  subjects  of  the 
Brahman  appeared  not  to  relish  such  transfer,  and  by  "  the  lowing  of  the 
I  cow  Savala  "  obtained  numerous  foreign  auxiliaries,  which  enabled  the 
I  Brahman  to  set  his  sovereign  at  defiance.  Of  these  "  the  Pahlavi  (Persian) 
;  kings,  the  dreadful  Sakas  (Sakai),  and  Yavanas  (Greeks),  with  scymitars  and 
;  gold  armour,  the  Kambojas,"  etc.,  were  each  in  turn  created  by  the  aU- 
producing  cow.  The  armies  of  the  Pahlavi  kings  were  cut  to  pieces  by 
Vishvamitra  ;   who  at  last,  by  continual  reinforcements,  was  overpowered 

VOL.  I  D 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIRES 

sovereign  of  Mitliila,  addressed  witli  folded  hands  in  token  of 
superiority." 

Relations  of  Rajputs  with  Brahmans. — But  this  deference  for 
the  Brahmans  is  certainly,  with  many  Rajput  classes,  very  weak. 
In  obedience  to  prejudice,  they  show  them  outward  civility  ;  but, 
unless  when  their  fears  or  wishes  interfere,  they  are  less  esteemed 
than  the  bards. 

The  story  of  the  King  Vishvamitra  of  Gadhipura  ^  and  the 
Brahman  Vasishtha,  which  fills  so  many  sections  of  the  first  book 
of  the  Ramayana,^  exemplifies,  under  the  veil  of  allegory,  the 

by  the  Brahman's  levies.  These  reinforcements  would  appear  to  have  been 
the  ancient  Persians,  the  Sacae,  the  Greeks,  the  inhabitants  of  Assam  and 
Southern  India,  and  various  races  out  of  the  jiale  of  the  Hindu  rehgion  ; 
all  classed  under  the  term  Mlechchha,  equivalent»to  the  '  barbarian  '  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans. 

The  King  Vishvamitra,  defeated  and  disgraced  by  this  powerful  priest, 
"  like  a  serpent  with  his  teeth  broken,  like  the  sun  robbed  by  the  eclipse  of 
its  splendour,  was  filled  with  perturbation.  Deprived  of  his  sons  and  array, 
stripped  of  his  pride  and  confidence,  he  was  left  without  resource  as  a  bird 
bereft  of  his  wings."  He  abandoned  his  kingdom  to  his  son,  and  like  all 
Hindu  princes  in  distress,  determined,  by  penitential  rites  and  austerities, 
"  to  obtain  Brahmanhood."  He  took  up  his  abode  at  the  sacred  Pushkar, 
living  on  fruits  and  roots,  and  fixing  his  mind,  said,  "  I  will  become  a  Brah- 
man." By  these  penances  he  attained  such  spiritual  power  that  he  was 
enabled  to  usurp  the  Brahman's  office.  The  theocrats  caution  Vishvamitra, 
thus  determined  to  become  a  Brahman  by  austerity,  that  "  the  divine  books 
are  to  be  observed  with  care  only  by  those  acquainted  with  their  evidence  ; 
nor  does  it  become  thee  (Vishvamitra)  to  subvert  the  order  of  things  estab- 
lished by  the  ancients."  The  history  of  his  wanderings,  austerities,  and  the 
temptations  thrown  in  his  way  is  related.  The  celestial  fair  were  com- 
missioned to  break  in  upon  his  meditations.  The  mother  of  love  herself 
descended  ;  while  Indra,  joining  the  cause  of  the  Brahmans,  took  the  shape 
of  the  kokila,  and  added  the  melody  of  his  notes  to  the  allurements  of 
Rambha,  and  the  perfumed  zephyrs  which  assailed  the  royal  saint  in  the 
wilderness.  He  was  proof  against  all  temptation,  and  condemned  the  fair 
to  become  a  pillar  of  stone.  He  persevered  "  till  every  passion  was  subdued," 
till  "  not  a  tincture  of  sin  appeared  in  him,"  and  gave  such  alarm  to  the 
whole  priesthood,  that  they  dreaded  lest  his  excessive  sanctity  should  be 
fatal  to  them  :  they  feared  "  mankind  would  become  atheists."  "  The 
gods  and  Brahma  at  their  head  were  obliged  to  grant  his  desire  of  Brahman- 
hood ;  and  Vashishtha,  conciliated  by  the  gods,  acquiesced  in  their  wish, 
and  formed  a  friendship  with  Vishvamitra  "  [Muir,  Original  Sanskril  Texts, 
Part  i.  (1858),  75  ff.]. 

^  Kanauj,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  present  race  of  Marwar.     [This  is  a 
myth. J 

*  See  translation  of  this  epic,  by  Messrs.  Carey  and  Marshman  [in  verse, 
by  R.  T.  H.  Griffith]. 


PURANIC  GENEALOGIES  35 

contests  for  power  between  the  Brahmanical  and  military  classes, 
and  will  serve  to  indicate  the  probable  period  when  the  castes 
became  immutable.  Stripped  of  its  allegory,  the  legend  appears  to 
point  to  a  time  when  the  division  of  the  classes  was  yet  imperfect ; 
though  we  may  infer,  from  the  violence  of  the  struggle,  that  it  was 
the  last  in  which  Brahmanhood  could  be  obtained  by  the  military. 

Vishvamitra  was  the  son  of  Gadhi  (of  the  race  of  Kausika),  King 
of  Gadhipura,  and  contemporary  of  Ambarisha,  King  of  Ayodhya 
or  Oudh,  the  fortieth  prince  from  Ikshwaku  ;  consequently  about 
two  hundred  years  anterior  to  Rama.  This  event  therefore, 
whence  we  infer  that  the  system  of  castes  was  approaching  per- 
fection, was  probably  about  one  thousand  foiu'  hundred  years 
before  Christ. 

Dates  o£  the  Genealogies. — If  proof  can  be  given  that  these 
genealogies  existed  in  the  days  of  Alexander,  the  fact  would  be 
interesting.  The  legend  in  the  Puranas,  of  the  origin  of  the 
Lunar  race,  appears  to  afford  this  testimonj^ 

Vyasa,  the  author  of  the  grand  epic  the  Mahabharata,  was  son 
of  Santanu  (of  the  race  of  Hari),^  sovereign  of  Delhi,  by  Yojana- 
gandha,  a  fisherman's  daughter,^  [30]  consequently  illegitimate. 
He  became  the  spiritual  father,  or  preceptor,  of  his  nieces,  the 
daughters  of  Vichitravirya,  the  son  and  successor  of  Santanu. 

The  Herakles  Legend. — Vichitravirya  had  no  male  offspring. 
Of  his  three  daughters,  one  was  named  Pandaia  *  ;  and  Vyasa, 

^  Hari-Kula. 

^  It  is  a  very  curious  circumstance  that  Hindu  legend  gives  to  two  of 
their  most  celebrated  authors,  whom  they  have  invested  with  a  sacred 
character,  a  descent  from  the  aboriginal  and  impure  tribe3"of  India  :  Vyasa 
from  a  fisherman,  and  Valmiki,  the  author  of  the  other  grand  epic  the 
Ramayana,  from  a  Baddhik  or  robber,  an  associate  of  the  Bhil  tribe  at 
Abu.  The  conversion  of  Vahniki  (said  to  have  been  miraculous,  when  in 
the  act  of  robbing  the  shrine  of  the  deity)  is  worked  into  a  story  of  con- 
siderable effect,  in  the  works  of  Chand,  from  olden  authority. 

3  The  reason  for  this  name  is  thus  given.  One  of  these  daughters  being 
by  a  slave,  it  was  necessary  to  ascertain  which  :  a  difficult  matter,  from  the 
secl\ision  in  which  they  were  kept.  It  was  therefore  left  to  Vyasa  to  discover 
the  pure  of  birth,  who  determined  that  nobihty  of  blood  would  show  itself, 
and  comm.anded  that  the  princesses  should  wallc  uncovered  before  him. 
The  elder,  from  shame,  closed  her  eyes,  and  from  her  was  born  the  blind 
Dhritarashtra,  sovereign  of  Hastinapura  ;  the  second,  from  the  same  feeling, 
covered  herself  with  yellow  ochre,  called  pandit,  and  henceforth  she  bore  the 
name  of  Pandya,  and  her  son  was  called  Pandu  ;  while  the  third  stepped  forth 
unabashed.     She  was  adjudged  not  of  gentle  blood,  and  her  issue  was  Vidura. 


36  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

being  the  sole  remaining  male  branch  of  the  house  of  Santanu, 
took  his  niece,  and  spiritual  daughter,  Pandaia,  to  wife,  and 
became  the  father  of  Pandu,  afterwards  sovereign  of  Indraprastha. 
Arrian  gives  the  story  thus  :  "It  is  further  said  that  he 
[Herakles]  ^  had  a  very  niunerous  progeny  of  children  born  to 

^  A  generic  term  for  the  sovereigns  of  the  race  of  Hari,  used  by  Arrian 
as  a  proper  name  [?].  A  section  of  the  Mahabharata  is  devoted  to  the 
history  of  the  Harikula,  of  which  race  was  Vyasa. 

Arrian  notices  the  similarity  of  the  Theban  and  the  Hindu  Hercules,  and 
cites  as  authority  the  ambassador  of  Seleucus,  Megasthenes,  who  says  : 
"  This  Herakles  is  held  in  special  honour  by  the  Sourasenoi,  an  Indian  tribe 
who  possess  two  large  cities,  Methora  and  Cleisobora.  .  .  .  But  the  dress 
which  this  Herakles  wore,  Megasthenes  tells  us,  resembled  that  of  the 
Theban  Herakles,  as  the  Indians  themselves  admit."  [Arrian,  Indika,  viii., 
Methora  is  Mathura ;  Growse  {Mathura,  3rd  ed.  279)  suggests  that  Cleiso- 
bora is  Krishnapura,  '  city  of  Krishna.'] 

Diodorus  has  the  same  legend,  with  some  vai'iety.  He  says  :  "  Hercules 
was  bom  amongst  the  Indians,  and  Uke  the  Greeks  they  furnish  him  with 
a  club  and  lion's  hide.  In  strength  (bala)  he  excelled  all  men,  and  cleared 
the  sea  and  land  of  monsters  and  wild  beasts.  He  had  many  sons,  but  only 
one  daughter.  It  is  said  that  he  built  Pahbothra,  and  divided  his  kingdom 
amongst  his  sons  (the  Bahka-putras,  sons  of  Bah).  They  never  colonized  ; 
but  in  time  most  of  the  cities  assumed  a  democratical  form  of  government 
(though  some  were  monarchical)  till  Alexander's  time."  The  combats  of 
Hercules,  to  which  Diodorus  alludes,  are  those  in  the  legendary  haunts  of 
the  Harikulas,  during  their  twelve  years'  exile  from  the  seats  of  their  fore- 
fathers. 

How  invaluable  such  remnants  of  the  ancient  race  of  Harikula  !  How 
refreshing  to  the  mind  yet  to  discover,  amidst  the  riiins  on  the  Yamuna, 
Hercules  (Baldeva,  god  of  strength)  retaining  his  club  and  lion's  hide,  stand- 
ing on  his  pedestal  at  Baldeo,  and  yet  worshipped  by  the  Suraseni !  This 
name  was  given  to  a  large  tract  of  country  round  Mathura,  or  rather  round 
Surpura,  the  ancient  capital  founded  by  Surasena,  the  grandfather  of  the 
Indian  brother-deities,  Krishna  and  Baldeva,  ApoUo  and  Hercules.  The 
title  would  apply  to  either  ;  though  Baldeva  has  the  attributes  of  the  '  god 
of  strength.'  Both  are  es  (lords)  of  the  race  (Jcula)  of  Hari  (Hari-kul-es),  of 
which  the  Greeks  might  have  made  the  compound  Hercules.  Might  not  a 
colony  after  the  Great  War  have  migrated  westward  ?  The  period  of  the 
return  of  the  HeracUdae,  the  descendants  of  Atrens  (Atri  is  progenitor  of 
the  Harikula),  would  answer  :  it  was  about  half  a  century  after  the  Great 
War.     [These  speculations  are  worthless.] 

It  is  unfortunate  that  Alexander's  historians  were  unable  to  penetrate 
into  the  arcana  of  the  Hindus,  as  Herodotus  appears  to  have  done  with  those 
of  the  Egyptians.  The  shortness  of  Alexander's  stay,  the  unknown  language 
in  which  their  science  and  rehgion  were  hid,  presented  an  insuperable 
difficulty.  They  could  have  made  very  little  progress  in  the  study  of  the 
language  without  discovering  its  analogy  to  their  own. 


PURANIC  GENEALOGIES  37 

! 
him  in  India  .  .  .  [31]  but  that  he  had  only  one  daughter.^     The 

name  of  this  cliild  was  Pandaia,  and  the  land  in  which  she  was 

born,  and  with  the  sovereignty  of  which  Herakles  entrusted  her, 

was  called  after  her  name  Pandaia  "  (Indika,  viii.). 

This  is  the  very  legend  contained  in  the  Puranas,  of  Vyasa 
(who  was  Hari-kul-es,  or  chief  of  the  race  of  Hari)  and  his  spiritual 
daughter  Pandaia,  from  whom  the  grand  race  the  Pandavas,  and 
from  whom  Delhi  and  its  dependencies  were  designated  the 
Pandava  sovereignty. 

Her  issue  ruled  for  thirty-one  generations  in  direct  descents, 
or  frona  1120  to  610  before  Christ ;  when  the  military  minister,' 
connected  by  blood,  was  chosen  by  the  chiefs  who  rebelled  against 
the  last  Pandu  king,  represented  as  "  neglectful  of  all  the  cares 
of  government,"  and  whose  deposition  and  death  introduced  a 
new  dynasty. 

Two  other  dynasties  succeeded  in  like  manner  by  the  usurpa- 
tion of  these  military  ministers,  untU  Vikramaditya,  when  the 
Pandava  sovereignty  and  era  of  Yudhishthirawere  both  overturned. 

^  Arrian  generally  exercises  his  judgment  in  these  matters,  and  is  the 
reverse  of  credulous.  On  this  point  he  says,  "  Now  to  me  it  seems  that  even 
if  Herakles  could  have  done  a  thing  so  marvellous,  he  could  have  made 
himself  longer-hved,  in  order  to  have  intercourse  with  his  daughter  when 
she  was  of  mature  age  "  [Indika,  ix.]. 

Sandrocottus  is  mentioned  by  Arrian  to  be  of  this  line  ;  and  we  can 
have  no  hesitation,  therefore,  in  giving  him  a  place  in  the  dynasty  of  Puru, 
the  second  son  of  Yayati,  whence  the  patronymic  used  by  the  race  now 
extinct,  as  was  Yadu,  the  elder  brother  of  Puru.  Hence  Sandrocottus,  if 
not  a  Puru  himself,  is  connected  with  the  chain  of  which  the  hnks  are 
Jarasandha  (a  hero  of  the  Bharat),  Ripunjaya,  the  twenty-third  in  descent, 
when  a  new  race,  headed  by  Sanaka  and  Sheshnag,  about  six  hundred  years 
before  Christ,  usurped  the  seat  of  the  lineal  descendants  of  Puru  ;  in  which 
line  of  usurpation  is  Chandragupta,  of  the  tribe  Maurya,  the  Sandrocottus 
of  Alexander,  a  branch  of  this  Sheshnag,  Takshak,  or  Snake  race,  a  race 
whicli,  stripped  of  its  allegory,  will  afiford  room  for  subsequent  dissertation. 
The  Prasioi  of  Arrian  would  be  the  stock  of  Puru  j  Prayag  is  claimed  in 
the  annals  yet  existing  as  the  cradle  of  their  race.  This  is  the  modern 
Allahabad ;  and  the  Eranaboas  must  be  the  Jumna,  and  the  point  of 
junction  with  the  Ganges,  where  we  must  place  the  capital  of  the  Prasioi. 
[For  Sandrokottos  or  Chandragupta  Maurya  see  Smith,  EIII,  42  ff.  He 
certainly  did  not  belong  to  the  '  Snake  Race.'  The  Erannoboas  (Skr. 
Hiranyavaha,  '  gold-bearing  ')  is  the  river  Son.  The  Prasioi  (Skr.  Prachyas, 
dweUers  in  the  east')  had  their  capital  at  Patahputra,  the  modem  Patna 
(McCrindle,  Alexander,  365  f.).] 

*  Analogous  to  the  maire  du  2}alaiii  of  the  first  races  of  the  Franks. 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Indraprastha  remained  without  a  sovereign,  supreme  power 
being  removed  from  the  north  to  the  southern  parts  of  India,  till 
the  fourth,  or,  according  to  some  authorities,  the  eighth  century 
after  Vikrama,  when  the  throne  of  Yudhishthira  was  once  more 
occupied  by  the  Tuar  tribe  of  Rajputs,  claiming  descents  from  the 
Pandus.  To  this  ancient  capital,  thus  re  founded,  the  new 
appellation  of  Delhi  was  given  ;  and  the  dynasty  of  the  founder, 
Anangpal,  lasted  to  the  twelfth  century,  when  he  abdicated  in 
favour  of  his  grandson,^  Prithiviraja,  the  last  imperial  Rajput 
sovereign  of  India,  whose  defeat  and  death  introduced  the 
Muhammadans. 

This  line  has  also  closed  with  the  pageant  of  a  prince,  and  a 
colony  returned  from  the  extreme  west  is  now  the  sole  arbiter  of 
the  thrones  of  Pandu  and  Timur. 

Britain  has  become  heir  to  the  monuments  of  Indraprastha 
raised  by  the  descendants  of  Budha  and  Ila ;  to  the  iron  pillar  of 
the  Pandavas,  "  whose  pedestal  ^  [32]  is  fixed  in  hell  "  ;  to  the 
columns  reared  to  victory,  inscribed  with  characters  yet  unknown  ; 
to  the  massive  ruins  of  its  ancient  continuous  cities,  encompassing  a 
space  still  larger  than  the  largest  city  in  the  world,  whose  moulder- 
ing domes  and  sites  of  fortresses,'  the  very  names  of  which  are 

^  His  daughter's  son.  This  is  not  the  first  or  only  instance  of  the  SaUc 
law  of  India  being  set  aside.  There  are  two  in  the  history  of  the  sovereigns 
of  Anhilwara  Patan.  In  all  adoptions  of  this  nature,  when  the  child 
'  binds  round  his  head  the  turban  '  of  his  adopted  father,  he  is  finally 
severed  from  the  stock  whence  he  had  his  birth.  [For  the  early  history  of 
Delhi  see  Smith,  EHI,  386  ff.] 

^  The  khil,  or  iron  pillar  of  the  Pandus,  is  mentioned  in  the  poems  of 
Chand.  An  infidel  Tuar  prince  wished  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  tradition 
of  its  depth  of  foundation  :  "  blood  gushed  up  from  the  earth's  centre,  the 
pillar  became  loose  (dhili),"  as  did  the  fortune  of  the  house  from  such  im- 
piety. This  is  the  origin  of  Delhi.  [The  inscription  on  the  pillar  proves 
the  falsity  of  the  legend,  and  the  name  Delhi  is  older  than  the  Tuar  dynasty 
{/G/,  xi.233).] 

'  I  doubt  if  Shahpur  is  yet  known.  I  traced  its  extent  from  the  remains 
of  a  tower  between  Humayun's  tomb  and  the  grand  column,  the  Kutb.  In 
1809  I  resided  four  months  at  the  mausoleum  of  Safdar  Jang,  the  ancestor 
of  the  present  [late]  King  of  Oudh.  amidst  the  ruins  of  Indraprastha,  several 
miles  from  inhabited  Delhi,  but  with  which  these  ruins  forms  detached  links 
of  connexion.  I  went  to  that  retirement  with  a  friend  now  no  more, 
Lieutenant  Macartney,  a  name  well  known  and  honoured.  We  had  both 
been  employed  in  surveying  the  canals  which  had  their  sources  in  common 
from  the  head  of  the  Jumna,  where  this  river  leaves  its  rocky  barriers,  the 
Siwalik  chain,  and  issues  into  the  plains  of  Hindustan.     These  canals  on 


GENEALOGIES  3D 

lost,  present  a  noble  field  for  speculation  on  the  ephemeral  nature 
of  power  and  glory.  What  monument  would  Britain  bequeath 
to  distant  posterity  of  her  succession  to  this  dominion  ?  Not 
one  :  except  it  be  that  of  a  still  less  perishable  nature,  the  monu- 
ment of  national  benefit.  Much  is  in  our  power  :  much  has  been 
given,  and  posterity  will  demand  the  result. 


CHAPTER   3 

Princes  of  the  Solar  Line.— Vyasa  gives  but  fifty-seven  prhiccs 
of  the  Solar  line,  from  Vaivaswata  Manu  to  Rama  ;  and  no  list 
which  has  come  under  my  observation  exhibits  more  than  fifty- 
eight,  for  the  same  period,  of  the  Lunar  race.  How  different 
from  the  Egyptian  priesthood,  who,  according  to  Herodotus, 
gave  a  list  up  to  that  period  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  ^ 
sovereigns  from  their  first  prince,  also  the  '  sun-born  ^  Menes  !  ' 

Ikshwaku  was  the  son  of  Manu,  and  the  first  who  moved  to 
the  eastward,  and  founded  Ayodhya. 

Budha  (Mercury)  founded  the  Lunar  line  ;  but  we  are  not  told 
who  established  their  first  capital,  Prayag,'  though  we  are  author- 
ized to  infer  that  it  was  founded  by  Puru,  the  sixth  in  descent 
from  Budha  [33]. 

A  succession  of  fifty-seven  princes  occupied  Ayodhya  from 
Ikshwaku  to  Rama.     From  Yayati's  sons  the  Lunar  races  descend 


each  side,  fed  by  the  parent  stream,  returned  the  waters  again  into  it ;  one 
through  the  city  of  Delhi,  the  other  on  the  opposite  side.  [Cunningham 
(ASR,  i.  207  £f.)  proved  that  the  true  site  of  the  ancient  city,  Siri,  was  the 
old  ruined  fort  to  the  north-east  of  Ral  Pithora's  stronghold,  which  is  at 
present  called  Shahpur.  This  identification  has  been  disputed  by  C.  J. 
Campbell  (JASB,  1866,  p.  206).  But  Cunningham  gives  good  reasons  for 
maintaining  his  opinion.  The  place  took  its  name  from  Sher  Shah  and  his 
son  Islam  or  Salim  Shah.  See  also  Carr  Stephens,  Archaeological  and 
Monumental  Remains  of  DeUii  (1876),  pp.  87  f.,  190.] 

1  Herodotus  ii.  99,  100. 

2  The  Egyptians  claim  the  sun,  also,  as  the  first  founder  of  the  kingdom 
of  Egypt. 

'  The  Jaisalmer  annals  give  in  succession  Prayag,  Mathura,  Kusasthala, 

Dwaraka,  as  capitals  of  the  Indu  or  Lunar  race,  in  the  ages  preceding  the 

Bharat  or  Great  War.     Hastinapur  was  founded  twenty  generations  after 

,  these,  by  Hastin,  from  whom  ramified  the  three  grand  Sakha,  viz.  Ajamidha, 

Vimidha,  and  Purumidha,  which  diversified  the  Yadu  race. 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

in  unequal  lengths.  The  lines  from  Yadu,^  concluding  with 
Krishna  and  his  cousin  Kansa,  exhibit  fifty-seven  and  fifty-nine 
descents  from  Yayati ;  while  Yudhishthira,'  Salya,'  Jarasandha,* 
and  Vahurita,*  all  contemporaries  of  Krishna  and  Kansa,  are 
fifty-one,  forty-six,  and  forty-seven  generations  respectively,  from 
the  common  ancestor  Yayati. 

Solar  and  Lunar  Genealogies. — There  is  a  wide  difference 
between  the  Solar  and  the  Yadu  branches  of  the  Lunar  lines  ; 
yet  is  that  now  given  fuUer  than  any  I  have  met  with.  Sir 
William  Jones's  lists  of  the  Solar  line  give  fifty-six,  and  of  the 
Limar  (Budha  to  Yudhishthira)  forty-six,  being  one  less  in  each 
than  in  the  tables  now  presented  ;  nor  has  he  given  the  important 
branch  terminating  with  Krishna.  So  close  an  affinity  between 
lists,  derived  from  such  different  authorities  as  this  distinguished 
character  and  myself  had  access  to,  shows  that  there  was  some 
general  source  entitled  to  credit. 

Mr.  Bentley's  *  lists  agree  with  Sir  William  Jones's,  exhibiting 
fifty-six  and  forty-six  respectively  for  the  last-mentioned  Solar 
and  Lunar  races.  But,  on  a  close  comparison,  he  has  either 
copied  them  or  taken  from  the  same  original  source  ;  afterwards 
transposing  names  which,  though  aiding  a  likely  hypothesis, 
will  not  accord  with  their  historical  belief. 

Colonel  Wllford's  '  Solar  list  is  of  no  use  ;  but  his  two  dynasties 
of  Puru  and  Yadu  of  the  Liuiar  race  are  excellent,  that  part  of  the 
line  of  Furu,  from  Jarasandha  to  Chandragupta,  being  the  only 
correct  one  in  print. 

It  is  surprising  Wilford  did  not  make  use  of  Sir  William  Jones's 
Solar  chronology  ;  but  he  appears  to  have  dreaded  bringing 
down  Rama  to  the  period  of  Krishna,  as  he  is  known  to  have 
preceded  by  four  generations  '  the  Great  War '  of  the  Yadu  races. 

It  is  evident  that  the  lAmar  line  has  reached  us  defective.  It 
is  supposed  so  by  their  genealogists  ;    and  WUl'ord  would  have 

^  See  Table  I.  [not  reprinted]. 

*  Of  Delhi — Indraprastlia. 

'  Salya,  the  founder  of  Aror  on  the  Indus,  a  capital  Ihad  the  good 
fortune  to  discover.     Salya  is  the  Siharas  of  Abu-1  Fazl.     [Ain,  ii.  343.] 

*  Jarasandha  of  Bihar. 

'  Vahoorita,  unknown  yet.     [?  Bahuratha.] 

*  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  v.  p.  341. 
'  Ibid.  vol.  V.  p.  241. 


GENEALOGIES  41 

increased  the  error  by  taking  it  as  the  standard,  and  reducing 
the  Solar  to  conform  thereto. 

Mr.  Bentley's  method  is  therefore  preferable  ;  namely,  to 
suppose  eleven  princes  omitted  in  the  Lunar  between  Janmejaya 
and  Prachinvat.  But  as  there  is  no  [34]  authority  for  this,  the 
Lunar  princes  are  distributed  in  the  tables  collaterally  with  the 
Solar,  preserving  contemporaneous  affinity  where  synchronisms 
will  authorise.  By  this  means  all  hypothesis  will  be  avoided,  and 
the  genealogies  will  speak  for  themselves. 

There  is  very  little  difference  between  Sir  William  Jones's  and 
Colonel  Wilford's  lists,  in  that  main  branch  of  the  Lunar  race, 
of  which  Puru,  Hastin,  Ajamidha,  Kuru,  Santanu,  and  Yud- 
hishthira  are  the  most  distinguished  links.  The  coincidence  is 
so  near  as  to  warrant  a  supposition  of  identity  of  source  ;  but 
close  inspection  shows  WUford  to  have  had  a  fuller  supply,  for 
he  produces  new  branches,  both  of  Hastin's  and  Kuru's  progeny. 
He  has  also  one  name  (Bhimasena)  towards  the  close,  which  is  in 
my  lists,  but  not  in  Sir  William  Jones's  ;  and  immediately  follow- 
ing Bhimasena,  both  these  lists  exhibit  Dilipa,  wanting  in  my 
copy  of  the  Bhagavat,  though  contained  in  the  Agni  Purana  : 
proofs  of  the  diversity  of  the  sources  of  supply,  and  highly  grati- 
fying when  the  remoteness  of  those  sources  is  considered.  There 
is  also  in  my  lists  Tansu,  the  nineteenth  from  Budlia,  who  is  not 
in  the  lists  either  of  Sir  William  Jones  or  Wilford.  Again  ; 
Wilford  has  a  Suhotra  preceding  Hastin,  who  is  not  in  Sir  William 
Jones's  genealogies. '^ 

Again  ;  Jahnu  is  made  the  successor  to  Kuru  ;  whereas  the 
Purana  (whence  my  extracts)  makes  Parikshit  the  successor, 
who  adopts  the  son  of  Jahnu.  This  son  is  Viduratha,  who  has  a 
place  in  all  tliree.     Other  variations  are  merely  orthographical. 

A  comparison  of  Sir  William  Jones's  Solar  genealogies  with  my 
tables  will  yield  nearly  the  same  satisfactory  result  as  to  original 
authenticity.  I  say  Sir  William  Jones's  list,  because  there  is  no 
other  efficient  one.  We  first  differ  at  the  fourth  from  Iksliwaku. 
In  my  list  this  is  Am-Prithu,  of  which  he  makes  two  names, 
Anenas  and  Prithu.  Thence  to  Purukutsa,  the  eighteenth,  the 
difference  is  only  in  orthography.  To  Irisuaka,  the  twenty-third 
in  mine,  the  twenty-sixth  in  Sir  William  Jones's  list,  one  name  is 
above  accounted  for  ;  but  here  are  two  wanting  in  mine,  Trasa- 
^  I  find  them,  however,  in  the  Agni  Purana. 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

dasyu  and  Haryaswa.  There  is,  also,  considerable  difference  in 
the  orthography  of  those  names  which  we  have  in  common. 
Again  ;  we  differ  as  to  the  successors  of  Champa,  the  twenty- 
seventh,  the  founder  of  Champapur  in  Bihar.  In  Sir  William's, 
Sadeva  succeeds,  and  he  is  followed  by  Vijaya  ;  but  my  authorities 
state  these  both  to  be  sons  of  Champa,  and  that  Vijaya,  the  [35] 
younger,  was  his  successor,  as  the  elder,  Sadeva,  took  to  religious 
austerity.  The  thirty-third  and  thirty-sixth,  Kesi  and  Dilipa, 
are  not  noticed  by  Sir  William  Jones  ;  but  there  is  a  much  more 
important  person  than  either  of  these  omitted,  who  is  a  grand 
link  of  connexion,  and  affording  a  good  synchronism  of  the 
earliest  history.  This  is  Ambarisha,  the  fortieth,  the  contem- 
porary of  Gadhi,  who  was  the  founder  of  Gadhipura  or  Kanauj. 
Nala,  Sarura,  and  Dilipa  (Nos.  4i,  45,  54  of  my  lists)  are  all 
omitted  by  Sir  William  Jones. 

This  comparative  analysis  of  the  chronologies  of  both  these 
grand  races  cannot  fail  to  be  satisfactory.  Those  which  I  furnish 
are  from  the  sacred  genealogies  in  the  library  of  a  prince  who 
claims  common  origin  with  them,  and  are  less  liable  to  inter- 
polation. There  is  scarcely  a  chief  of  character  for  knowledge 
who  cannot  repeat  the  genealogy  of  his  line.  The  Prince  of 
Mewar  has  a  peculiarly  retentive  memory  in  this  way.  The  pro- 
fessed genealogists,  the  Bhats,  must  have  them  graven  on  their 
memory,  and  the  Charanas  (the*  encomiasts)  ought  to  be  well 
versed  therein. 

The  first  table  exhibits  two  dynasties  of  the  Solar  race  of 
Princes  of  Ayodhya  and  Mithila  Des,  or  Tirhut,  which  latter  I  have 
seen  nowhere  else.  It  also  exhibits  four  great  and  three  lesser 
dynasties  of  the  Lunar  race  ;  and  an  eighth  line  is  added,  of  the 
race  of  Yadu,  from  the  annals  of  the  Bhatti  tribe  at  Jaisalmer. 

Ere  quitting  this  halting-place  in  the  genealogical  history  of 
the  ancient  races,  where  the  celebrated  names  of  Rama,  Krishna, 
and  Yudhishthira  close  the  brazen  age  of  India,  and  whose  issue 
introduce  the  present  iron  age,  or  Kali  Yuga,  I  shall  shortly  refer 
to  the  few  synchronic  points  which  the  various  authorities  admit. 

Of  periods  so  remote,  approximations  to  truth  are  the  utmost 
to  be  looked  for  ;  and  it  is  from  the  Ramayana  and  the  Puranas 
these  synchronisms  are  hazarded. 

Harischandra. — The  first  commences  with  a  celebrated  name  of 
the  Solar  line,  Harischandra,  son  of  Trisanku,  still  proverbial  for 


GENEALOGIES  43 

his  humility.^  He  is  the  twenty-fourth,^  and  declared  contem- 
porary of  Parasurama,  who  slew  the  celebrated  Sahasra-Arjuna  ^ 
of  [36]  the  Haihaya  (Lunar)  race,  Prince  of  Mahishniati  on  the 
Nerbudda.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  Ramayana,  which  details 
the  destruction  of  the  military  class  and  assumption  of  political 
power  by  the  Brahmans,  under  their  chief  Parasurama,  marking 
the  period  when  the  military  class  '  lost  the  umbrella  of  royalty,' 
and,  as  the  Brahmans  ridiculously  assert,  their  purity  of  blood. 
This  last,  however,  their  own  books  sufficiently  contradict,  as  the 
next  synchronism  will  show. 

Sagara. — This  synchronism  we  have  in  Sagara,  the  thirty - 
second  prince  of  the  Solar  line,  the  contemporary  of  Talajangha,  of 
the  Lunar  line,  the  sixth  in  descent  from  Sahasra  Arjuna,  who  had 
five  sons  preserved  from  the  general  slaughter  of  the  military  class 
by  Parasurama,  whose  names  are  given  in  the  Bhavishya  Purana. 

Wars  were  constantly  carried  on  between  these  great  rival 
races,  Surya  and  Indu,  recorded  in  the  Puranas  and  Ramayana. 
The  Bhavishya  describes  that  between  Sagara  and  Talajangha 

^  [The  tragical  story  of  Harischandra  is  told  by  J.  Muir,  Original  Sanskrit 
Texts,  i.  88  ff.] 

^  Sahyadri  Khanda  of  the  Skanda  Purana. 

'  In  the  Bhavishya  Purana  this  prince,  Sahasra-Arjuna,  is  termed  a 
Chakravartin,  or  paramount  sovereign.  It  is  said  that  iie  conquered  Kar- 
kotaka  of  the  Takshak,  Turushka,  or  Snake  race,  and  brought  with  him  the 
population  of  Mahishmati,  and  founded  Hemanagara  in  the  north  of  India, 
on  his  expulsion  from  his  dominions  on  the  Nerbudda.  Traditionary  legends 
yet  remain  of  this  prince  on  the  Nerbudda,  where  be  is  styled  Sahasrabahu, 
or  '  with  a  thousand  arms,'  figurative  of  his  numerous  progeny.  The 
Takshak,  or  Snake  race,  here  alluded  to,  will  hereafter  engage  our  attention. 
The  names  of  animals  in  early  times,  planets,  and  things  inanimate,  all 
furnished  symbolic  appellations  for  the  various  races.  In  Scrii^ture  we  have 
the  fly,  the  bee,  the  ram  to  describe  the  princes  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  and 
Macedonia ;  here  we  have  the  snake,  horse,  monkey,  etc.  The  Snake  or 
Takshak  race  was  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  earliest  of  Higher  Asia, 
and  celebrated  in  all  its  extent,  and  to  which  I  shall  have  to  recur  hereafter. 
[By  the  Takshak  race,  so  often  referred  to,  the  author  seems  to  mean  a  body 
of  Scythian  snake-worshippers.  There  are  instances  of  a  serpent  barrow, 
and  of  the  use  of  the  snake  as  a  form  of  ornament  among  the  Scythians  ; 
but  bej'ond  this  the  evidence  of  worship  of  the  serpent  is  scanty  (E.  H. 
Minns,  Scythians  and  Greeks,  328  f.,  66  note,  294,  318,  323,  etc.).  It  was 
really  the  Takka,  a  Panjab  tribe  (Beal,  Si-yu-ki,  i.  165  ft".  ;  Cunningham, 
Ancient  Geography  of  India,  148  ff.  ;   Stein,  Rdjatarangini,  i.  204  f.).] 

In  the  Ramayana  it  is  stated  that  the  sacrificial  horse  was  stolen  by  "  a 
serpent  (Takshak)  assuming  the  form  of  Ananta." 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

"  to  resemble  that  of  their  ancestors,  in  which  the  Haihayas 
suffered  as  severely  as  before."  But  that  they  had  recovered  all 
their  power  since  Parasuraina  is  evident  from  their  having  com- 
pletely retaliated  on  the  Suryas,  and  expelled  the  father  ^  of 
Sagara  from  his  capital  of  Ayodhya.  Sagara  and  Talajangha 
appear  to  have  been  contemporary  with  Hastin  of  Hastinapura, 
and  with  Anga,  descended  from  Budha,  the  founder  of  Angadesa,^ 
or  Ongdesa,  and  the  Anga  race. 

Ambarisha. — The  Ramayana  affords  another  synchronism  ; 
namely,  that  Ambarisha  of  Ayodhya,  the  fortieth  prince  of  the 
Solar  line,  was  the  contemporary  of  Gadhi,  the  foimder  of  Kanauj, 
and  of  Lomapada  the  Prince  of  Angadesa. 

Krishna. — The  last  synchronism  is  that  of  Krishna  and  Yud- 
hishthira,  which  terminates  the  [37]  brazen,  and  introduces  the  Kali 
Yuga  or  iron  age.  But  this  is  in  the  Lunar  line  ;  nor  have  we 
any  guide  by  which  the  difference  can  be  adjusted  between  the 
appearance  of  Rama  of  the  Solar  and  Krishna  of  the  Lunar  races. 

Thus  of  the  race  of  Krostu  we  have  Kansa,  Prince  of  Mathura, 
the  fifty-ninth,  and  his  cousin  Krishna,  the  fifty-eighth  from 
Budha ;  while  of  the  hne  of  Puru,  descending  through  Ajamidha 
and  Dvimidha,  we  have  Salya,  Jarasandha,  and  YudhLshthira. 
the  fifty-flrstj  fifty-third,  and  fifty-fourth  respectively. 

The  race  of  Anga  gives  Prithusena  as  one  of  the  actors  and 
survivors  of  the  Mahabharata,  and  the  fifty-third  from  Budha. 

Thus,  taking  an  average  of  the  whole,  we  may  consider  fifty- 
five  princes  to  be  the  number  of  descents  from  Budha  to  Krishna 

^  "  Asita,  the  father  of  Sagara,  expelled  by  hostile  kings  of  the  Haihaj'as, 
the  Talajanghas,  and  the  Sasa-vindus,  fled  to  the  Himavat  mountains,  whei'o 
he  died,  leaving  his  wives  pregnant,  and  from  one  of  these  Sagara  was  born  " 
(Ramayana,  i.  41).  It  was  to  preserve  the  Solar  race  from  the  destruction 
which  threatened  it  from  the  prohfic  Lunar  race,  that  the  Brahman  Parasu- 
rama  armed  :  evidently  proving  that  the  Brahmanicai  faith  was  held  by 
the  Solar  race  ;  while  the  rehgion  of  Budha,  the  great  progenitor  of  the 
Lunar,  still  governed  his  descendants.  This  strengthened  the  opposition 
of  the  sages  of  the  Solar  line  to  Vishvamitra's  (of  Budha's  or  the  Lunar 
line)  obtaining  Brahmanhood.  That  Krishna,  of  Lunar  stock,  prior  to 
founding  a  new  sect,  worshipped  Budha,  is  susceptible  of  proof. 

^  Angdcs,  Ongdes,  or  Undes  adjoins  Tibet.  The  inhabitants  call  them- 
selves Hungias,  and  appear  to  be  the  Hong-niu  of  the  Chinese  authors,  the 
Huns  (Huns)  of  Europe  and  India,  which  prove  this  Tartar  race  to  be  Lunar, 
and  of  Budha.  [Anga,  the  modern  Bhagalpur,  is  confounded  with  Hundes 
or  Tibet.] 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES  45 

and  Yudhishthira  ;  and,  admitting  an  average  of  twenty  years 
for  each  reign,  a  period  of  eleven  hundred  years  ;  which  being 
added  to  a.  Hke  period  calculated  from  thence  to  Vikramaditya, 
who  reigned  fifty-six  years  before  Christ,  I  venture  to  place  the 
establishment  in  India  Proper  of  these  two  grand  races,  distinct- 
ively called  those  of  Surj^a  and  Chandra,  at  about  2256  years 
before  the  Christian  era  ;  at  which  period,  though  somewhat 
later,  the  Egyptian,  Chinese,  and  Assyrian  monarchies  are  gener- 
ally stated  to  have  been  established,^  and  about  a  century  and 
a  half  after  that  great  event,  the  Flood. 

Though  a  passage  in  the  Agni  Purana  indicates  that  the  line  of 
Surj^a,  of  which  Ikshwaku  was  the  head,  was  the  first  colony 
which  entered  India  from  Central  Asia,  yet  we  are  compelled  to 
place  the  patriarch  Budha  as  his  contemporary,  he  being  stated 
to  have  come  from  a  distant  region,  and  married  to  Ila,  the  sister 
of  Ikshwaku. 

Ere  we  proceed  to  make  any  remarks  on  the  descendants  of 
Krishna  and  Arjuna,  who  carry  on  the  Lunar  line,  or  of  the 
Kushites  and  Lavites,  from  Kusa  and  Lava,  the  sons  of  Rama, 
who  carry  on  that  of  the  Sun,  a  few  observations  on  the  chief 
kingdoms  established  by  their  progenitors  on  the  continent  of 
India  will  be  hazarded  in  the  ensuing  Chapter  [38]. 


CHAPTER  4 

Ayodhya. — iVyodhya  ^  was  the  first  city  founded  by  the  race  of 
Surya.     Like  other  capitals,  its  importance  must  have  risen  by 

^  Egyptian,  under  Misraim,  2188  b.c.  ;  Assyrian,  2059  ;  Chinese,  2207. 
[The  first  Egyptian  dynasty  is  now  dated  5500  B.C.  ;  Chinese,  2852  B.C.  ; 
Babylonian,  2300  B.C.  Any  attempt  to  establish  an  Indian  chronology  from 
the  materials  used  by  the  Author  does  not  promise  to  be  successful.] 

^  The  picture  drawn  by  Valmild  of  the  capital  of  the  Solar  race  is  so 
highly  coloured  that  Ayodhya  might  stand  for  Utopia,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  such  a  catalogue  of  metropolitan  embellishments  in  this, 
the  iron  age  of  Oudh.  "  On  the  banks  of  the  Surayu  is  a  large  country 
called  Kosala,  in  which  is  Ayodhya,  built  by  Mann,  twelve  yojans  (forty- 
eight  miles)  in  extent,  with  streets  regular  and  well  watered.  It  was  filled 
with  merchants,  beautified  by  gardens,  ornamented  with  stately  gates  and 
high-arched  porticoes,  furnished  v/ith  arms,  crowded  with  chariots,  elephants, 
and  horses,  and  with  ambassadors  from  foreign  lands ;  embeUisbed  with 
palaces  whose  domes  resembled  the  mountain  tops,  dwellings  of  equal  height, 
resounding  with  the  delightful  music  of  the  tabor,  the  flute,  and  the  harp. 


46  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

slow  degrees  ;  ye^  making  every  allowance  for  exaggeration,  it 
must  have  attained  great  splendour  long  anterior  to  Rama.  Its 
site  is  well  known  at  this  day  under  the  contracted  name  of 
Oudh,  which  also  designates  the  country  appertaining  to  the 
titular  wazir  of  the  Mogul  empire  ;  which  country,  twenty-five 
years  ago,  nearly  marked  the  limits  of  Kosala,  the  pristine 
kingdom  of  the  Surya  race.  Overgrown  greatness  characterized 
all  the  ancient  Asiatic  capitals,  and  that  of  Ayodhya  was  immense. 
Lucknow,  the  present  capital,  is  traditionally  asserted  to  have  been 
one  of  the  suburbs  of  ancient  Oudh,  and  so  named  by  Rama,  in 
compliment  to  his  brother  Lakshman. 

Mithila. — Nearly  coeval  in  point  of.  time  with  Ayodhya  was 
Mithila,^  the  capital  of  a  country  of  the  same  name,  founded  by 
Mithila,  the  grandson  of  Ikshwaku. 

The  name  of  .Janaka,^  son  of  Mithila,  eclipsed  that  of  the  founder 
and  became  the  patronymic  of  this  branch  of  the  Solar  race. 

Other  Kingdoms. — These  are  the  two  chief  capitals  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  Solar  line  described  in  [39]  this  early  age  :  though 
there  were  others  of  a  minor  order,  such  as  Rohtas,  Champapura,^ 
etc.,  all  founded  previously  to  Rama. 

By  the  numerous  dynasties  of  the  Lunar  race  of  Budha  many 
kingdoms  were  founded.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  antiquity 
of  Prayag  ;  yet  the  first  capital  of  the  Indu  or  Lunar  race  appears 

It  was  surrounded  by  an  impassable  moat,  and  guarded  by  archers.  Dasa- 
ratha  was  its  king,  a  mighty  charioteer.  There  were  no  atheists.  The 
affections  of  the  men  were  in  their  consorts.  The  women  were  chaste  and 
obedient  to  their  lords,  endowed  with  beautj,  wit,  sweetness,  prudence, 
and  industry,  with  bright  ornaments  and  fair  apparel ;  the  men  devoted 
to  truth  and  hospitality,  regardful  of  their  superiors,  their  ancestors,  and 
their  gods. 

"  There  were  eight  councillors  ;  two  chosen  priests  profoimd  in  the  law, 
besides  another  inferior  council  of  six.  Of  subdued  appetites,  disinterested, 
forbearing,  pleasant,  patient ;  not  avaricious  ;  well  acquainted  with  their 
duties  and  popular  customs  ;  attentive  to  the  army,  the  treasury  ;  im- 
partially awarding  punishment  even  on  their  own  sons  ;  never  oppressing 
even  an  enemy  ;  not  arrogant ;  comely  in  dress  ;  never  confident  about 
doubtful  matters  ;   devoted  to  the  sovereign." 

^  Mithila,  the  modern  Tirhut  in  Bengal  [including  the  modern  districts 
of  Darbhanga,  Champaran,  and  Muzaffarpur]. 

^  Kusadhwaja,  father  of  Sita  (spouse  of  Rama),  is  also  called  Janaka  ; 
a  name  common  in  this  line,  and  borne  by  the  third  prince  in  succession 
after  Suvarna  Roma,  the  '  golden-haired  '  chief  Mithila. 
I       '  [Rohtas  in  the  modern  Shahabad  district ;  Charapapura  in  Ehagalpur.] 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES  47 

to  have  ITeen  founded  by  Sahasra  Arjuna,  of  the  Haihaya  tribe. 
This  was  Mahishmati  on  tlie  Nerbudda,  still  existing  in  Mahes- 
war.^  The  rivalry  between  the  Lnnar  race  and  that  of  the  Suryas 
of  Ayodhya,  in  whose  aid  the  priesthood  armed,  and  expelled 
Sahasra  Arjuna  from  Mahishmati,  has  been  mentioned.  A  small 
branch  of  these  ancient  Haihayas  ^  yet  exist  in  the  line  of  the 
Nerbudda,  near  the  very  top  of  the  valley  at  Sohagpur,  in  Baghel- 
khand,  aware  of  their  ancient  lineage  ;  and,  though  few  in  number, 
are  still  celebrated  for  their  valour.^ 

Dwarka. — Kusasthali  Dwarka,  the  capital  of  Krishna,  was 
founded  prior  to  Prayag,  to  Surpur,  or  Mathura.  The  Bhagavat 
attributes  the  foundation  of  the  city  to  Anrita,  the  brother  of 
Ikshwaku,  of  the  Solar  race,  but  states  not  how  or  when  the 
Yadus  became  possessed  thereof. 

The  ancient  annals  of  the  Jaisalmer  family  of  the  Yadu  stock 
give  the  priority  of  foundation  to  Prayag,  next  to  Mathura,  and 
last  to  Dwarka.  All  these  cities  are  too  well  known  to  require 
description  ;  especially  Prayag,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Yamuna 
and  Ganges.  The  Prasioi  were  the  descendants  of  Puru  *  of 
Prayag,  visited  by  Megasthenes,  ambassador  of  Seleucus,  and  the 
principal  city  of  the  Yadus,  ere  it  sent  forth  the  four  branches 
from  Satwata.  At  Prayag  resided  the  celebrated  Bharat,  the 
son  of  Sakuntala. 

In  the  Ramayana  the  Sasavindus  ^  (another  Yadu  race)  are 
inscribed  as  allied  with  the  Haihayas  in  the  wars  with  the  race  of 
Surya  ;  and  of  this  race  was  Sisupal "  (the  founder  of  Chedi  ^), 
one  of  the  foes  of  Krishna  [40]. 

*  Familiarly  designated  as  Sahasra  Bahu  ki  Basti,  or  '  the  town  of  the 
thousand-armed.'     [In  Indore  State  {IGI,  xvii.  8).] 

2  The  Haihaya  race,  of  the  line  of  Budha,  may  claim  affinity  with  the 
Chinese  race  which  first  gave  nionarchs  to  China  [?]. 

*  Of  this  I  have  heard  the  most  romantic  proofs  in  very  recent  times. 

*  Puru  became  the  patronymic  of  this  branch  of  the  Lunar  race.  Of  this 
Alexander's  historians  made  Porus.  The  Suraseni  of  Methoras  (descendants 
of  the  Sursen  of  Mathura)  were  all  Purus,  the  Prasioi  of  Megasthenes  [see 
p.  .37,  n.].  Allahabad  yet  retains  its  Hindu  name  of  Prayag,  pronounced 
Prag. 

^  The  Hares.  Sesodia  is  said  to  have  the  same  derivation.  [From 
Sesoda  in  Mewar.] 

*  The  princes  of  Ranthambhor,  expelled  by  Prithwiraja  of  Delhi,  were 
of  this  race. 

'  The  modern  Chanderi  [in  the  Gwalior  State,  IQI,  x.  163  f.]  is  said  to  be 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Surpur. — We  are  assured  by  Alexander's  historians  that  the 
country  and  people  round  Mathura,  when  he  invaded  India,  were 
termed  Surasenoi.  There  are  two  princes  of  the  name  of  Sursen 
in  the  immediate  ancestry  of  Krishna  ;  one  his  grandfather,  the 
other  eight  generations  anterior  Which  of  these  founded  the 
capital  Surpur/  whence  the  country  and  inhabitants  had  their 
appellation,  we  cannot  say  Mathura  and  Cleisobara  are  men- 
tioned by  the  historians  of  Alexander  as  the  chief  cities  of  the 
Surasenoi.  Though  the  Greeks  sadly  disfigure  names,  we  cannot 
trace  any  affinity  between  Cleisobara  and  Surpur. 

this  capito.l,  and  one  of  the  few  to  which  no  Englishman  has  obtained 
entrance,  though  I  tried  hard  in  1807.  Doubtless  it  would  afford  food  for 
curiosity  ;  for,  being  out  of  the  path  of  armies  in  the  days  of  conquest  and 
revolution,  it  may,  and  I  believe  does,  retain  much  worthy  of  research. 
[The  capital  of  the  Chedi  or  Kalachuri  dynasty  was  Tripura  or  Karanbel, 
near  Jabalpur  {IGI,  x.  12).] 

^  I  had  the  pleasure,  in  1814,  of  discovering  a  remnant  of  this  city,  which 
the  Yamuna  has  overwhelmed.  [The  ancient  Surj^apura  was  near  Batesar, 
40  miles  south-east  of  Agra  city.  Sir  H.  Elliot  (Supplemental  Glossary,  187) 
remarks  that  it  is  strange  that  the  Author  so  often  claims  the  credit  of  dis- 
covery when  its  position  is  fixed  in  a  set  of  familiar  verses.  For  Suryapura 
see  A.  Fiihrer,  Monumental  Antiquities  and  Inscriptions,  69.]  The  sacred 
place  of  pilgrimage,  Batesar,  stands  on  part  of  it.  My  discovery  of  it  was 
doubly  gratifying,  for  while  I  found  out  the  Surasenoi  of  the  Greeks,  I 
obtained  a  medal  of  the  little  known  ApoUodotus,  who  carried  his  arms  to 
the  mouths  of  the  Indus,  and  possibly  to  the  centre  of  the  land  of  the  Yadus. 
He  is  not  included  by  Bayer  in  his  lists  of  the  kings  of  Bactria,  but  wo  have 
only  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  that  dynasty.  The  Bhagavat 
Purana  asserts  thirteen  Yavan  or  Ionian  princes  to  have  ruled  in  Balichdes 
[?]  or  Bactria,  in  which  they  mention  Pushpamitra  Dvimitra.  We  are 
justified  in  asserting  this  to  be  Demetrius,  the  son  of  Euthydemus,  but  who 
did  not  succeed  his  father,  as  Menander  intervened.  Of  this  last  conqueror 
I  also  possess  a  medal,  obtained  amongst  the  Surasenoi,  and  struck  in  com- 
memoration of  victory,  as  the  winged  messenger  of  heavenly  peace  extends 
the  palm  branch  from  her  hand.  These  two  will  fill  up  a  chasm  in  the 
Bactrian  annals,  for  Menander  is  well  known  to  them.  ApoUodotus  would 
have  perished  but  for  Arrian,  who  wrote  the  Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea 
in  the  second  century,  while  commercial  agent  at  Broach,  or  classically 
Brigukachchha,  the  Barugaza  of  the  Greeks.  [The  Periplus  of  the  Erythraean 
Sea  was  written  by  an  unknown  Greek  merchant  of  first  century  a.d. 
(McCrindlo,  Commerce  and  Navigation,  Introd.  p.  1).] 

Without  the  notice  this  writer  has  afforded  us,  my  ApoUodotus  would 
have  lost  half  its  value.  Since  my  arrival  in  Europe  I  have  also  been  made 
acquainted  with  the  existence  of  a  medal  of  Demetrius,  discovered  in 
Bokhara,  and  on  which  an  essay  has  been  written  by  a  savant  at  St. 
Petersburg. 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES  49 

Hastinapura. — The  city  of  Hastinapura  was  built  by  Hastin 
a  name  celebrated  in  the  Lunar  dynasties.  The  name  of  this 
city  is  still  preserved  on  the  Ganges,  about  forty  miles  south  of 
Hardwar,^  where  the  Ganges  breaks  through  the  Siwalik  moun- 
tains and  enters  the  plains  of  India.  This  mighty  stream,  rolling 
its  masses  of  waters  from  the  glaciers  of  the  Himalaya,  and  joined 
by  many  auxiliary  streams,  frequently  carries  destruction  before 
it.  In  one  night  a  column  of  thirty  feet  in  perpendicular  height 
has  been  known  to  bear  away  all  within  its  sweep,  and  to  such  an 
occurrence  the  capital  of  Hastin  is  said  to  have  owed  its  ruin.^ 
As  it  existed,  however,  long  after  the  Mahabharata,  it  is  surpris- 
ing it  is  not  mentioned  by  the  historians  of  Alexander,  who  in- 
vaded India  probably  about  eight  centuries  after  that  event.  In 
this  abode  of  the  sons  of  Puru  resided  Porus,  one  of  the  two 
princes  of  that  name,  opponents  of  Alexander,  and  probably 
Bindusara  the  son  of  Chandragupta,  surmised  to  be  the  Abisares  ^ 
and  Sandrakottos  of  Grecian  authorities.  Of  the  two  princes 
named  Porus  mentioned  by  Alexander's  [41]  historians,  one 
resided  in  the  very  cradle  of  the  Puru  dynasties  ;  the  abode  of 
the  other  bordered  on  the  Panjab  :  warranting  an  assertion  that 
the  Pori  of  Alexander  were  of  the  Lunar  race,  and  destroying 
all  the  claims  various  authors  *  have  advanced  on  behalf  of  the 
princes  of  Mewar.* 

Hastin  sent  forth  three  grand  branches,  Ajamidha,  Dvimidha, 
and  Purumidha.  Of  the  two  last  we  lose  sight  altogether  ;  but 
Ajamidha's  progeny  spread  over  all  the  northern  parts  of  India, 
in  the  Panjab  and  across  the  Indus.  The  period,  probably  one 
thousand  six  hundred  years  before  Christ. 

^  The  portal  of  Hari  or  Hara,  whose  trisula  or  trident  is  there. 

^  Wilford  says  this  event  is  mentioned  in  two  Puranas  as  occurring  in  the 
sixth  or  eighth  generation  of  the  Great  War.  Those  who  have  travelled  in 
the  Duab  must  have  remarked  where  both  the  Ganges  and  Jumna  have 
shifted  their  beds. 

'  [Abisares  is  Abhisara  in  the  modern  Kashmir  State  (Smith,  EHI,  59).] 

*  Sir  Thomas  Roe  ;  Sir  Thomas  Herbert ;  the  Holstein  ambassador  (by 
Olearius) ;  Delia  Valle  ;  Churchill,  in  his  collection  :  and  borrowing  from 
these,  D'Anville,  Bayer,  Orme,  Rennell,  etc. 

''  The  ignorance  of  the  family  of  Mewar  of  the  fact  would  by  no  means 
be  a  conclusive  argument  against  it,  could  it  be  otherwise  substantiated  ; 
but  the  race  of  Surya  was  completely  eclipsed  at  that  period  by  the  Lunar 
and  new  races  which  soon  poured  in  from  the  west  of  the  Indu.s,  and  in  time 
displaced  them  all. 

VOL.  I  E 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

From  Ajamidha/  in  the  fourth  generation,  was  Bajaswa,  who 
obtained  possessions  towards  the  Indus,  and  whose  five  sons  gave 
their  name,  Panchala,  to  the  Panjab,  or  space  watered  by  the 
five  rivers.  The  capital  founded  by  the  younger  brother,  Kam- 
pila,  was  named  Kampilnagara.^ 

The  descendants  of  Ajamidha  by  his  second  "wife,  Kesini, 
founded  another  kingdom  and  dynasty,  celebrated  in  the  heroic 
history  of  Northern  India.     This  is  the  Kausika  dynasty. 

Kanauj. — Kusa  had  four  sons,  two  of  whom,  Kusanablia  and 
Kusamba,  are  well  known  to  traditional  history,  and  by  the  still 
surviving  cities  founded  by  them.  Kusanabha  founded  the  city  of 
Mahodaya  on  the  Ganges,  afterwards  changed  to  Kanyakubja,  or 
Kanauj,  which  maintained  its  celebrity  until  the  Muhammadan 
invasion  of  Shihabu-d-din  (a.d.  1193),  when  this  overgrown  city 
was  laid  prostrate  for  ever.  It  was  not  unfrequently  called 
Gadhipura,  or  the  '  city  of  Gadhi.'  This  practice  of  multiply- 
ing names  of  cities  in  the  east  is  very  destructive  to  history. 
Abu-1  Fazl  has  taken  from  Hindu  authorities  an  account  of 
Kanauj  ;  and  could  we  admit  the  authority  of  a  poet  on  such 
subjects,  Chand,  the  bard  of  Prithwiraja,*  would  afford  materials. 
Ferishta  states  it  in  the  early  ages  to  have  been  twenty- 
five  coss  [42]  (thirty-five  miles)  in  circumference,  and  that 
there  were  thirty  thousand  shops  for  the  sale  of  the  areca  or 
beetle  -  nut  only  ;  *  and  this  in  the  sixth  century,  at  which 
period  the  Rathor  dynasty,  which  terminated  with  Jaichand, 
in  the  twelfth,  had  been  in  possession  from  the  end  of  the  fiftli 
century. 

Kusamba   also   founded   a   city,   called   after   his   own   name 

^  Ajamidha,  by  his  wife  Nila,  had  five  sons,  who  spread  their  branches 
(Sakha)  on  both  sides  the  Indus.  Regarding  three  the  Puranas  are  silent, 
which  impHes  their  migration  to  distant  regions.  Is  it  possible  they  might 
be  the  origin  of  the  Medes  ?  Tliese  Medes  are  descendants  of  Yayati,  third 
son  of  the  patriarch  Manu  ;  and  Madai,  founder  of  the  Medes,  was  of  Japhet's 
line.  Ajamidha,  the  patronymic  of  the  branch  of  Bajaswa,  is  from  Aja,  '  a 
goat.'  The  Assyrian  Mode,  in  Scripture,  is  typified  by  the  goat.  [These 
speculations  are  worthless.] 

^  Of  this  house  was  Draupadi,  the  wife,  in  common,  of  the  five  Pandava 
brothers  :    manners  peculiar  to  Scythia. 

'  King  of  Delhi. 

*  [Briggs  i.  57.  The  accounts  of  tlie  size  of  the  citj'  are  extravagant 
(Elphinstone,  HI,  3.32  note  ;  Cunningham,  ASR,  i.  270  tf.).] 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES  51 

Kaiisambi.^  The  name  was  in  existence  in  the  eleventh  century  ; 
and  ruins  might  yet  exist,  if  search  were  made  on  the  shores  of 
the  Ganges,  from  Kanauj  southward. 

The  otlier  sons  built  two  capitals,  Dharmaranya  and  Vasumati  ; 
but  of  neither  have  we  any  correct  knowledge. 

Kuru  had  two  sons,  Sudhanush  and  Parikhshita.  The  descend- 
ants of  the  former  terminated  with  Jarasandha,  whose  capital  was 
Rajagriha  (the  modern  Rajmahal)  on  the  Ganges,  in  the  province 
of  Bihar.^  From  Parikhshita  descended  the  monarchs  Santanu 
and  Balaka  :  the  first  producing  the  rivals  of  the  Great  War, 
Yudhishthira  and  Duryodhana  ;  the  other  the  Balakaputras. 

Duryodhana,  the  successor  to  the  throne  of  Kuru,  resided  at 
the  ancient  capital,  Hastinapura  ;  while  the  junior  branch, 
Yudhishthira,  founded  Indraprastha,  on  the  Yamuna  or  Jumna, 
which  name  in  the  eighth  century  was  changed  to  Delhi. 

The  sons  of  Balaka  founded  two  kingdoms  :  Palibothra,  on 
the  lower  Ganges ;  and  Aror,'  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Indus, 
founded  by  Sahl  [43]. 

^  An  inscription  was  discovered  at  Kara  on  the  Ganges,  in  which  Yaspal 
is  mentioned  as  prince  of  the  realm  of  Kausambi  {As.  Res.  vol.  ix.  p.  440). 
WiKord,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Geography  of  the  Purans,  says  "  Causambi, 
near  Alluhabad  "  {As.  Res.  vol.  xiv.).  [The  site  is  uncertain  (Smith,  EHI, 
29.3,  note).]  ^  [Rajglr  in  Patna  District.] 

'  Aror,  or  Alor,  was  the  capital  of  Sind  in  remote  antiquity  :  a  bridge 
over  the  stream  which  branched  from  the  Indus,  near  Dara,  is  almost  the 
sole  vestige  of  this  capital  of  the  Sogdoi  of  Alexander.  On  its  site  the 
shepherds  of  the  desert  have  estabhshed  an  extensive  hamlet ;  it  is  placed 
on  a  ridge  of  siliceous  rock,  seven  miles  east  of  the  insular  Bakhar,  and  free 
from  the  inundations  of  the  Indus.  The  Sodha  tribe,  a  powerful  branch  of 
the  Pramara  race,  has  ruled  in  these  countries  from  remote  antiquity,  and 
to  a  very  late  period  they  were  lords  of  Umarkot  and  Umrasurara,  in  which 
divisions  was  Aror.  Sahl  and  his  capital  were  known  to  Abu-1  Fazl,  though 
he  was  ignorant  of  its  position,  which  he  transferred  to  Debal,  or  Dewal,  the 
modern  Tatta.  This  indefatigable  historian  thus  describes  it :  ''  In  ancient 
times  there  lived  a  raja  named  Siharas  (Sahl),  whose  capital  was  Alor,  and 
his  dominions  extended  north  to  Kashmir  and  south  to  the  ocean  "  [Atn, 
ii.  343].  Sahl,  or  Sahr,  becaine  a  titular  appellation  of  the  country,  its 
princes,  and  its  inhabitants,  the  Sehraes.  [See  p.  21  above.]  Alor  appears 
to  have  been  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Sigerdis,  conquered  by  Menander 
of  Bactria.  Ibn  Haukal,  the  Arabian  geographer,  mentions  it ;  but  a 
superfluous  point  in  writing  has  changed  Aror  into  Azor,  or  Azour,  as 
translated  by  Sir  W.  Ouseley.  The  illustrious  D'AnviUe  mentions  it ;  but, 
in  ignorance  of  its  position,  quoting  AbuLfeda,  says,  in  grandeur  "  Azour 
est  presque  comparable  a  Mooltan."     I  have  to  claim  the  discovery  of 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

One  great  arm  of  the  tree  of  Yayati  remains  unnoticed,  that  of 
Uru  or  Urvasu,  written  by  others  Turvasu.  Uru  was  the  father 
of  a  hne  of  kings  who  founded  several  empires.  Virupa,  the 
eighth  prince  from  Uru,  had  eight  sons,  two  of  whom  are  particu- 
larly mentioned  as  sending  forth  two  grand  shoots,  Druhyu  and 
Bhabru.  From  Druhyu  a  dynasty  was  established  in  the  north. 
Aradwat,  with  his  son  Gandhara,  is  stated  to  have  founded  a 
State  :  Prachetas  is  said  to  have  become  king  of  Mlecchhades,  or 
the  barbarous  regions.  This  line  terminated  with  Dushyanta, 
the  husband  of  the  celebrated  Sakuntala,  father  of  Bharat,  and 
who,  labouring  under  the  displeasure  of  some  offended  deity,  is 
said  by  the  Hindus  to  have  been  the  cause  of  all  the  woes  which 
subsequent^  befell  the  race.  The  four  grandsons  of  Dushyanta, 
Kalanjar,  Keral,  Pand,  and  Chaul,  gave  their  names  to  countries. 

Kalanjar.^ — Kalanjar  is  the  celebrated  fortress  in  Bundelkhand, 
so  well  known  for  its  antiquities,  which  have  claimed  considerable 
notice. 

Kerala. — Of  the  second,  Kerala,  it  is  only  known  that  in  the  list 
of  the  thirty-six  royal  races  in  the  twelfth  century,  the  Kerala 
makes  one,  but  the  capital  is  unknown.^ 


several  ancient  capital  cities  in  the  north  of  India  :  Surpur,  on  the  Jumna, 
the  capital  of  the  Yadus  ;  Alor,  on  the  Indus,  the  capital  of  the  Sodhas  ; 
Mandodri,  capital  of  the  Pariharas  ;  Chandravati,  at  the  foot  of  the  Aravalli 
mountains  ;  and  Valabhipura,  in  Gujarat,  capital  of  the  Balaka-raes,  the 
Balharas  of  Arab  travellers.  The  Bala  Rajput  of  Saurashtra  may  have 
given  the  name  to  Valabhipura,  as  descendants  of  Balaka,  from  Sahl  of 
Aror.  The  blessing  of  the  bard  to  them  is  yet,  Tatta  Multan  ka  Rao  ( '  lord 
of  Tatta  and  Multan,'  the  seats  of  the  Balaka-putras)  :  nor  is  it  improbable 
that  a  branch  of  these  under  the  Indian  Hercules,  Balaram,  who  left  India 
after  the  Great  War,  may  have  founded  Bahch,  or  Balkh,  emphatically 
called  the  '  mother  of  cities.'  The  Jaisalmer  annals  assert  that  the  Yadu 
and  Balaka  branches  of  the  Indu  race  ruled  Khorasan  after  the  Great  War, 
the  Indo-Scythic  races  of  Grecian  authors.  Besides  the  Balakas,  and  the 
numerous  branches  of  the  Indo-Medes,  many  of  the  sons  of  Kuru  dispersed 
over  these  regions  :  amongst  whom  we  may  place  Uttara  Kuru  (Northern 
Kurus)  of  the  Puranas,  the  Ottorokorrhai  of  the  Greek  authors.  Both  the 
Indu  and  Surya  races  were  eternally  sending  their  superfluous  population 
to  those  distant  regions,  when  ])robably  the  same  primeval  rchgion  governed 
the  races  east  and  west  of  the  Indus.     [Much  of  this  is  incorrect.] 

^  [The  Chera  or  Kerala  kingdom  comj)rised  the  Southern  Konkans  or 
Malabar  coast,  the  present  Malabar  district  with  Travancore  and  Cochin, 
the  dynasty  being  in  e.Kistence  early  in  the  Christian  era  (Smith,  EHI,  447  ; 
IGI,  X.  192  f.).] 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  ANCIENT   CITIES  53 

Fandya. — The  kingdom  founded  by  Pand  may  be  that  on  the 
coast  of  Malabar,  the  Pandu-Mandal  of  the  Hindus,  the  Regia 
Pandiona  of  the  geographers  of  the  west,  and  of  which,  probably, 
Tanjore  is  the  modern  capital.^ 

Chaul.— Chaul  ^  is  in  the  Saurashtra  penmsula,  and  on  the 
coast,  towards  Jagat  Khunt, '  the  world's  end,'  and  still  retains  its 
appellation. 

Anga. — The  other  shoot  from  Bhabru  became  celebrated. 
The  thirty-fourth  prince,  Anga,  founded  the  kingdom  of  Angadesa, 
of  which  Champapuri  *  was  the  [44]  capital,  estabhshed  about 
the  same  time  with  Kanauj,  probably  fifteen  himdred  years 
before  Christ.  With  him  the  patronymic  was  changed,  and  the 
Anga  race  became  famous  in  ancient  Hindu  history  ;  and  to  this 
day  Un-des  still  designates  the  Alpine  regions  of  Tibet  bordering 
on  Chinese  Tartary. 

Prithusena  terminates  the  line  of  Anga  ;  and  as  he  survived 
the  disasters  of  the  Great  War,  his  race  probably  multiplied  in 
those  regions,  where  caste  appears  never  to  have  been  introduced. 

Recapitulation. — Thus  have  we  rapidly  reviewed  the  dynasties 
of  Surya  and  Chandra,  from  Manu  and  Budha  to  Rama,  Krishna, 
Yudhishthira,  and  Jarasandha  ;  estabhshing,  it  is  hoped,  some 
new  points,  and  perhaps  adding  to  the  credibility  of  the  whole. 

The  wrecks  of  almost  all  the  vast  cities  founded  by  them  are 
yet  to  be  traced  in  ruins.  The  city  of  Ikshwaku  and  Rama,  on 
the  Sarju ;  Indraprastha,  Mathura,  Surpura,  Prayag  on  the 
Yamuna  ;  Hastinapura,  Kanyakubja,  Rajagriha  on  the  Ganges  ; 
Maheswar  on  the  Nerbudda  ;  Aror  on  the  Indus  ;  and  Kusasthali 

^  [The  Pandya  kingdom  included  the  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  districts, 
with  parts  of  Trichinopoly,  and  sometimes  Travancore,  its  capitals  being 
Madura,  or  Kudal,  and  Korkai  (Smith,  op.  cil.  449  f. ;   IGI,  xix.  394  f.).] 

^  From  Chaul  on  the  coast,  in  journeying  towards  Junagarh,  and  about 
seven  miles  from  the  former,  are  the  remains  of  an  ancient  city. 

*  From  the  description  in  the  Raraayana  of  King  Dasaratha  proceeding 
to  Champamalina,  the  capital  of  Lomapada,  king  of  Anga  (sixth  in  descent 
from  the  founder),  it  is  evident  that  it  was  a  very  mountainous  region,  and 
the  deep  forests  and  large  rivers  presented  serious  obstructions  to  his  journey. 
From  this  1  should  imagine  it  impossible  that  Angadesa  should  apply  to  a 
portion  of  Bengal,  in  which  there  is  a  Champamalina,  described  by  Colonel 
Francklin  in  his  Essay  on  PaUbothra.  [The  Anga  kingdom,  with  its  capital 
at  Champapuri,  near  Bhagalpur,  corresponded  to  the  modern  districts  of 
North  Monghyr,  North  Bhagalpur,  and  Purnea  west  of  the  Mahananda 
river  {IGI,  v.  373).] 


54  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Dwarka  on  the  shore  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  Each  has  left  some 
memorial  of  former  grandeur  :   research  may  discover  others. 

There  is  yet  an  unexplored  region  in  Panchala  ;  Kampilana- 
gara  its  capital,  and  those  cities  established  west  of  the  Indus  by 
the  sons  of  Bajaswa. 

Traces  of  the  early  Indo-Scythic  nations  may  possibly  reward 
the  search  of  some  adventurous  traveller  who  may  penetrate  into 
Transoxiana,  on  the  sites  of  Cyropolis,  and  the  most  northern 
Alexandria  ;   in  Balkh,  and  amidst  the  caves  of  Bamian. 

The  plains  of  India  retain  yet  many  ancient  cities,  from  whose 
ruins  somewhat  may  be  gleaned  to  add  a  mite  to  knowledge  ;  and 
where  inscriptions  may  be  foimd  in  a  character  which,  though 
yet  unintelligible,-  will  not  always  remain  so  in  this  age  of  dis- 
covery. For  such  let  the  search  be  general,  and  when  once  a  key 
is  obtained,  they  will  enlighten  each  other.  Wherever  the  races 
of  Kuru,  Urn,  and  Yadu  have  swayed,  have  been  found  ancient 
and  yet  imdeciphered  characters. 

Much  would  reward  him  who  would  make  a  better  digest  of 
the  historical  and  geographical  matter  in  the  Puranas.  But  we 
must  discard  the  idea  that  the  history  of  Rama,  the  INIahabharata 
of  Krishna  and  the  five  Pandava  ^  brothers,  are  [45]  mere  alle- 
gory :  an  idea  supported  by  some,  although  their  races,  their 
cities,  and  their  coins  still  exist.  Let  us  master  the  characters 
on  the  columns  of  Indraprastha,  of  Prayag  and  Mewar,  on  the 
rocks  of  Junagarh,^  at  Bijolli,  on  the  Aravalli,  and  in  the  Jain 

^  The  history  and  exploits  of  the  Pandavas  and  Harikulas  are  best  known 
in  the  most  remote  parts  of  India  :  amidst  the  forest-covered  mountains  of 
Saurashtra,  the  deep  woods  and  caves  of  Hidiniba  and  Virat  (still  the  shelter 
of  the  savage  Bhil  and  KoH),  or  on  the  craggy  banks  of  the  Charmanvati 
(Chambal).  In  each,  tradition  has  locaUzed  the  shelter  of  these  heroes 
when  exiled  from  the  Yamuna  ;  and  colossal  figures  cut  from  the  mountain, 
ancient  temples  and  caves  inscribed  with  characters  yet  unknown,  attributed 
to  the  Pandavas,  confirm  the  legendary  tale. 

*  The  '  ancient  city,'  par  eminence,  is  the  only  name  this  old  capital,  at 
the  foot  of,  and  guarding,  the  sacred  mount  Girnar,  is  known  by.  Abu-1 
Fazl  says  it  had  long  remained  desolate  and  unknown,  and  was  discovered 
by  mere  accident.  {Ain,  ii.  245.  For  a  description  of  the  place  see  BG, 
viii.  487  ;  E.  C.  Bayley,  Local  Muhammadan  Dynasties,  Gujarat,  182  ff.] 
Tradition  even  being  silent,  they  gave  it  the  emphatic  appellation  of  Juna 
(old)  Garh  (fortress).  J  have  httle  doubt  that  it  is  the  Aaaldurga,  or  | 
Asalgarh,  of  the  Guhilot  annals ;  where  it  is  said  that  prince  Asal  raised  a 
fortress,  called  after  him,  near  to  Girnar,  by  the  consent  of  the  Dabhi  i^rince, 
his  uncle. 


LATER  DYNASTIES  5S 

temples  scattered  over  India,  and  then  we  shall  be  able  to  arrive 
at  just  and  satisfactory  conclusions. 


CHAPTER  5 

Having  investigated  the  line  from  Ikshwaku  to  Rama,  and  that 
from  Budha  (the  parent  and  first  emigrant  of  the  Indu  ^  race,  I 
from  Saka  Dwipa,  or  Scythia,  to  Hindustan)  to  Krishna  andj 
Yudhishthira,  a  period  of  twelve  hundred  years,  we  proceed  to' 
the  second  division  and  second  table  of  the  genealogies. 

The  Suryavansa  or  Solar  Line. — From  Rama  all  the  tribes 
termed  Surj'avansa,  or  '  Race  of  the  Sun,'  claim  descent,  as  the 
present  princes  of  Mewar,  Jaipur,  Marwar,  Bikaner,  and  their 
numerous  clans  ;  while  from  the  Lunar  (Indu)  line  of  Budha  and 
Krishna,  the  families  of  Jaisalmer  and  Cutch  (the  Bhatti  ^  and 
Jareja  races),  extending  throughout  the  Indian  desert  from  the 
Sutlej  to  the  ocean,  deduce  their  pedigTees. 

Rama  preceded  Krishna  :  but  as  their  historians,  Valmiki  and 
Vyasa,  who  wrote  the  events  they  witnessed,  were  contemporaries, 
it  could  not  have  been  by  many  years  [46]. 

The  present  table  contains  the  dynasties  which  succeeded  these 
great  beacons  of  the  Solar  and  Lvmar  races,  and  are  three  in 
number.^ 

1.  The  Suryavansa,  descendants  of  Rama 

2.  The  Induvansa,  descendants  of  Pandu  through  Yudhish- 
thira. 

3.  The  Induvansa,  descendants  of  Jarasandha,  monarch  of 
Rajagriha. 

The  Bhagavat  and  Agni  Puranas  are  the  authorities  for  the 

^  Indu,  Som,  Chandra,  in  Sanskrit  '  the  moon  '  ;  hence  the  Lunar  race 
is  termed  the  Chandravansa,  Sotnvansa,  or  Induvansa,  most  probably  the 

'  root  of  Hindu.     [Pers.  hindu.  Skr.  sindhu.] 

;        ^  The  isolated   and   now   dependent   chieftainship   of  Dhat,   of   which 

•  Umarkot  is  the  capital,  separates  the  Bhattis  from  the  Jarejas.     Dhat  is 

]  now  amalgamated  with  Sind ;  its  prince,  of  Pramara  race  and  Sodha  tribe, 

I  ancient  lords  of  all  Sind. 

,!  '  A  fourth  and  fifth  might  have  been  given,  but  imperfect.  First  the 
descendants  of  Kusa,  second  son  of  Rama,  from  whence  the  princes  of 

j  Narwar  and  Amber  :    secondly,  the  descendants  of  Krishna,  from  whom 

[the  princes  of  Jaisalmer. 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

lines  from  Rama  and  Jarasandha  ;    while  that  of  Pandu  is  from 
the  Raja  Tarangini  and  Raj  avail. 

The  existing  Rajput  tribes  of  the  Solar  race  claim  descent  from 
Lava  and  Kusa,  the  two  elder  sons  of  Rama  ;  nor  do  I  believe 
any  existing  tribes  trace  their  ancestry  to  his  other  children,  or 
to  his  brothers. 

From  the  eldest  son,  Lava,  the  Ranas  of  Mewar  claim  descent  : 
so  do  the  Bargujar  tribe,  formerly  powerful  within  the  confines 
of  the  present  Amber,  whose  representative  now  dwells  at  Anup- 
shahr  on  the  Ganges. 

From  Kusa  descend  the  Kachhwaha  ^  princes  of  Narwar  and 
Amber,  and  their  numerous  clans.  Amber,  though  the  first  in 
power,  is  but  a  scion  of  Narwar,  transplanted  about  one  thousand 
years  back,  whose  chief,  the  representative  of  the  celebrated 
Prince  Nala,  enjoys  but  a  sorry  district  ^  of  all  his  ancient  pos- 
sessions. 

The  house  of  Marwar  also  claims  descent  from  this  stem,  which 
appears  to  originate  in  an  error  of  the  genealogists,  confounding 
the  race  of  Kusa  with  the  Kausika  of  Kanauj  and  Kausambi. 
Nor  do  the  Solar  genealogists  admit  this  assumed  pedigree. 

The  Amber  prince  in  his  genealogies  traces  the  descent  of  the 
Mewar  ^  family  from  Rama  to  Sumitra,  through  Lava,  the  eldest 
brother,  and  not  through  Kusa,*  as  in  some  copies  of  the  Puranas, 
and  in  that  whence  Sir  William  Jones  had  his  lists  [47J. 

Mr.  Bentley,  taking  this  genealogy  from  the  same  authority 
as  Sir  William  Jones,  has  mutilated  it  by  a  transposition,  for 

^  In  modem  times  always  written  and  pronounced  KiUchwdha. 

^  It  is  in  the  plateau  of  Central  India,  near  Shahabad. 

^  Whatever  dignity  attaches  to  this  pedigree,  whether  true  or  false, 
every  prince,  and  every  Hindu  of  learning,  admit  the  claims  of  the  princes 
of  Mewar  as  heir  to  '  the  chair  of  Rama  ' ;  and  a  degree  of  reverence  has 
consequently  attached,  not  only  to  his  person,  but  to  the  seat  of  his  power. 
When  Mahadaji  Sindhia  was  called  by  the  Rana  to  reduce  a  traitorous 
noble  in  Chitor,  such  was  the  reverence  which  actuated  that  (in  other 
respects)  little  scrupulous  chieftain,  that  he  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to 
point  his  cannon  on  the  walls  within  which  consent  established  '  the  throne 
of  Rama.'  The  Rana  himself,  then  a  jouth,  had  to  break  the  ice,  and  fired 
a  cannon  agauist  his  own  ancient  abode. 

*  Bryant,  in  his  Analysis,  mentions  that  the  children  of  the  Cushite 
Ham  used  his  name  in  salutation  as  a  mark  of  recognition.  '  Ram,  Ram,' 
is  the  common  salutation  in  these  Hindu  countries  ;  the  respondent  often 
joining  Sita's  name  with  that  of  her  consort  Rama,  '  Sita  Ram.' 


LATER  DYNASTIES  57 

which  his  reasons  are  insufficient,  and  militate  against  every 
opinion  of  the  Hindus.  Finding  the  names  Vrihadbala  and 
Vridasura,  declared  to  be  princes  contemporary  with  Yudhish- 
thira,  he  transposes  the  whole  ten  princes  of  his  list  intervening 
between  Takshak  ^  and  Bahuman.^ 

Bahuman,*  or  '  the  man  witli  arms  '  (Darazdaslit  or  Longi- 
manus)  is  the  thirty-fourth  prince  from  Rama  ;  and  his  reign 
must  be  placed  nearly  intermediate  between  Rama  and  Sumitra, 
or  his  contemporary  Vikrama,  and  in  the  sixth  century  from 
either. 

Sumitra  concludes  the  line  of  Surya  or  Rama  from  the  Bhaga- 
vat  Purana.  Thence  it  is  connected  with  the  present  line  of 
Mewar,  by  Jai  Singh's  authorities  ;  which  list  has  been  compared 
with  various  others^  chiefly  Jain,  as  will  be  related  in  the  annals 
of  Mewar.  , 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  line  of  Surya  exliibits  fifty-six  princes,  \ 
from  Lava,  the  son  of  Rama,  to  Sumitra,  the  last  prince  given  in  I 
the  Puranas.     Sir  William  Jones  exhibits  fifty-seven. 

To  these  fifty-six  reigns  I  sliould  be  willing  to  allow  the  average 
of  twenty  years,  which  would  give  1120  from  Rama  to  Sumitra, 
who  preceded  by  a  short  period  Vikramaditya  ;  and  as  1100  have 
been  already  calculated  to  have  preceded  the  era  of  Rama  and 
Yudhishthira,  the  inference  is,  that  2200  years  elapsed  from 
Ikshwaku,  the  founder  of  the  Solar  line,  to  Sumitra. 

Chandravansa  or  the  Lunar  Line. — From  the  Raja  Tarangini  1 
and    Rajavali     the    Induvansa    family    (descendants    of    Pandu  1 
tlirough  Yudhishthira)  is  supplied.     These  works,  celebrated  in 
llajwara  as  collections  of  genealogies  and  historical  facts,  by  the  | 

^  Twenty-eighth  prince  from  Rama  in  JMr.  Bentley's  list,  and  twenty-  ^ 
fifth  in  mine. 

2  Thirty-seventh  in  Mr.  Bentley's  hst  and  thirty-fourth  in  mine ;  but 
the  intervening  names  being  made  to  follow  Rama,  Bahuman  (written  by 
him  Banumat)  follows  Takshak. 

*  The  period  of  time,  also,  would  allow  of  their  grafting  the  son  of 
Artaxerxes  and  father  of  Darius,  the  worshipper  of  Mthras,  on  the  stem 
of  the  adorers  of  Surya,  while  a  curious  notice  of  the  Raja  Jai  Singh's  on  a 
subsequent  name  on  this  list  which  he  calls  Naushirwan,  strengthens  the 
coincidence.  Bahuman  (see  article  '  Bahaman,'  D'Herbelot's  Bibl.  Orient.) 
actually  carried  his  arms  into  India,  and  invaded  the  kingdoms  of  the  Solar 
race  of  Mithila  and  Magadha.  The  time  is  appropriate  to  the  first  Darius 
and  his  father ;  and  Herodotus  [iii.  94]  tells  us  that  the  richest  and  best  of 
the  satrapies  of  his  empire  was  the  Hindu, 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Pandils  Vidyadhara  and  Raghunatli,  were  compUed  under  the 
eye  of  the  most  learned  prince  of  his  period,  Sawai  Jai  Singh  of 
Amber,  and  give  the  various  dynasties  which  ruled  at  Indra- 
prastha,  or  Delhi,  from  Yudhishtliira  to  Vikramaditya  ;  and 
although  barren  of  events,  may  be  considered  of  value  in  filling  up 
a  period  of  entire  darkness  [48]. 

The  Tarangini  commences  with  Adinath  ^  or  Rishabhdeva,^ 
being  the  Jain  *  theogony.  Rapidly  noticing  the  leading  princes 
of  the  dynasties  discussed,  they  pass  to  the  birth  of  the  kings 
Dhritarashtra  and  Pandu,  and  their  offspring,  detailing  the 
causes  of  their  civil  strife,  to  that  conflict  termed  the  Mahabharata 
or  Great  War. 

The  Pandava  Family. — The  origin  of  every  family,  whether 
of  east  or  west,  is  involved  in  fable.  That  of  the  Pandu  *  is 
entitled  to  as  much  credence  as  the  birth  of  Romulus,  or  other 
founders  of  a  race. 

Such  traditions  ^  were  probably  invented  to  cover  some  great 
disgrace  in  the  Pandu  family,  and  have  relation  to  the  story 
already  related  of  Vyasa,  and  the  debasement  of  this  branch  of 
the  Harikulas.  Accordingly,  on  the  death  of  Pandu,  Duryo- 
dhana,  nephew  of  Pandu  (son  of  Dhritarashtra,  who  from  blindness 
could  not  inherit),  asserted  their  illegitimacy  before  the  assembled 
kin  at  Hastinapura.  With  the  aid,  however,  of  the  priesthood, 
and  the  blind  Dhritarashtra,  his  nephew,  Yudhishthira,  elder  son 
of  Pandu,  was  invested  by  him  with  the  seal  of  royalty,  in  the 
capital,  Hastinapura. 

Duryodhana's  plots  against  the  Pandu  and  his  partisans  were 

1  First  lord.  ^  j^qj.^  ^f  ^^^^  5^11. 

^  Vidhyadhar  was  a  Jain. 

*  Pandu  not  being  blessed  with  progeny,  his  queen  made  use  of  a  charm 
by  which  she  enticed  the  deities  from  their  spheres.  To  Dharma  Raj 
(Minos)  she  bore  Yudhishthira  ;  by  Pavan  (Aeolus)  she  had  Bhima ;  by 
Indra  (Jupiter  Coelus)  she  had  Arjuna,  who  was  taught  by  his  sire  the  use 
of  the  bow,  so  fatal  in  the  Great  War  ;  and  Nakula  and  Sahadeva  owed 
their  birth  to  Aswini  Kumar  (Aesculapius)  the  physician  of  the  gods. 

*  We  must  not  disregard  the  intellect  of  the  Amber  prince,  who  allowed 
these  ancient  traditions  to  be  incorporated  with  the  genealogy  compiled 
under  his  eye.  The  prince  who  obtained  De  Silva  from  Emmanuel  III.  of 
Portugal,  who  combined  the  astronomical  tables  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
raised  these  monuments  of  his  scientific  genius  in  his  favourite  pursuit 
(astronomy)  in  all  the  capital  cities  of  India,  while  engrossed  in  war  and 
pohtics,  requires  neither  eulogy  nor  defence. 


LATER  DYNASTIES  59 

so  numerous  that  the  five  brothers  determined  to  leave  for  a 
while  their  ancestral  abodes  on  the  Ganges.  They  sought  shelter 
in  foreign  countries  about  the  Indus,  and  were  first  protected  by 
Drupada,  king  of  Panchala,  at  whose  capital,  Kampilanagara, 
the  surrounding  princes  had  arrived  as  suitors  for  the  hand  of  his 
daughter,  Draupadi.^  But  the  prize  was  destined  for  the  exiled 
Pandu,  and  the  skill  of  Arjuna  in  archery  obtained  him  the  fair, 
who  "  threw  roimd  his  neck  the  (barmala)  garland  of  marriage." 
The  disappointed  princes  indulged  their  resentment  against  the 
exile  ;  but  by  Arjuna's  bow  they  suffered  the  fate  of  Penelope's 
suitors,  and  the  Pandu  brought  home  his  bride,  who  became  the 
wife  in  common  of  the  five  brothers  :  manners  ^  decisively 
Scythic  [49]. 

The  deeds  of  the  brothers  abroad  were  bruited  in  Hastinapura 
and  the  blind  Dhritarashtra's  influence  effected  their  recall.  To 
stop,  however,  their  intestine  feuds,  he  partitioned  the  Pandu 
sovereignty  ;  and  while  his  son,  Duryodhana,  retained  Hastina- 
pura, Yudhishthira  founded  the  new  capital  of  Indraprastha  ;  but 
shortly  after  the  Mahabharata  he  abdicated  in  favour  of  his  gi-and- 
nephew,  Parikshita,  introducing  a  new  era,  called  after  himself, 
which  existed  for  eleven  hundred  years,  when  it  was  overturned, 
and  Indraprastha  was  conquered  by  Vila-amaditya  Tuar  of  Ujjain, 
of  the  same  race,  who  established  an  era  of  his  own. 

On  the  division  of  the  Pandu  sovereignty,  the  new  kingdom 
of  Indraprastha  eclipsed  that  of  Hastinapura.  The  brothers 
reduced  to  obedience  the  surrounding  ^  nations,  and  compelled 
their  princes  to  sign  tributary  engagements  {paenama)^ 

Yudhishthira,    firmly    seated   on   his    throne,    determined   to 

^  Drupada  was  of  the  Aswa  race,  being  descended  from  Bajaswa  (or 
Hyaswa)  of  the  line  of  Ajamidha. 

^  This  marriage,  so  inconsistent  with  Hindu  deUcacy,  is  glossed  over. 
Admitting  the  polyandry,  but  in  ignorance  of  its  being  a  national  custom, 
puerile  reasons  are  interpolated.  In  the  early  annals  of  the  same  race, 
predecessors  of  the  Jaisalmer  family,  the  younger  son  is  made  to  succeed  : 
also  Scythic  or  Tatar.  The  manners  of  the  Scythae  described  by  Herodotus 
are  found  still  to  exist  among  their  descendants  :  "a  pair  of  shppers  at  the 
wife's  door  "  is  a  signal  well  understood  by  all  Eimauk  husbands  (Elphin- 
stone's  Caubul,  vol.  ii.  p.  251). 

'  Tarangini. 

*  Paenama  is  a  [Persian]  word  pecuharly  expressive  of  subserviency  to 
paramount  authority,  whether  the  engagement  be  in  money  or  service  : 
from  pae,  '  the  foot.' 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

signalize  his  reign  and  paramount  sovereignty,  by  the  imposing 
and  solemn  rites  of  Asvamedha  ^  and  Rajasuya. 

The  Asvamedha. — In  these  magnificent  ceremonies,  in  which 
princes  alone  officiate,  every  duty,  down  to  that  of  porter,  is  per- 
formed by  royalty. 

The  '  Steed  of  Sacrifice  '  was  liberated  under  Arjuna's  care, 
having  wandered  whither  he  listed  for  twelve  months  ;  and  none 
daring  to  accept  this  challenge  of  supremacy,  he  was  reconducted 
to  Indraprastha,  Avhere,  in  the  meanwhile,  the  hall  of  sacrifice  was 
prepared,  and  all  the  princes  of  the  land  were  summoned  to 
attend. 

The  hearts  of  the  Kurus  ^  burned  with  envy  at  the  assumption 
of  supremacy  by  the  Pandus,  for  the  Prmce  of  Hastinapura's 
office  was  to  serve  out  the  sacred  food  [50]. 

The  rivalry  between  the  races  burst  forth  afresh  ;  but  Duryo- 
dhana,  who  so  often  failed  in  his  schemes  against  the  safety  of  his 
antagonists,  determined  to  make  the  virtue  of  Yudhishthira  the 
instrument  of  his  success.  He  availed  himself  of  the  national 
propensity  for  play,  in  which  the  Rajput  continues  to  preserve 
his  Scythic  ^  resemblance.  Yudhishthira  fell  into  the  snare 
prepared  for  him.  He  lost  his  kingdom,  his  wife,  and  even  his 
personal  liberty  and  that  of  his  brothers,  for  twelve  years,  and 
became  an  exile  from  the  plains  of  the  Yamuna. 

The  traditional  historj'^  of  these  wanderers  during  the  term  of 
probation,  their  many  lurking  jilaces  now  sacred,  the  return 
to  their  ancestral  abodes,  and  the  grand  battle  (Mahabharata) 
which  ensued,  form  highly  interesting  episodes  in  the  legends  of 
Hindu  antiquity. 

To  decide  this  civil  strife,  every  tribe  and  chief  of  fame,  from 
the  Caucasus  to  the  ocean,  assembled  on  Kurukshetra,  the  field 

^  Sacrifice  of  the  horse  to  the  sun,  of  which  a  full  description  is  given 
hereafter. 

^  Duryodhana,  as  the  elder  ))ranch,  retained  his  title  as  head  of  the 
Kurus  ;  while  the  junior,  Yudhishthira,  on  the  separation  of  authority, 
adopted  his  father's  name,  Pandu,  as  the  patronymic  of  his  new  dynasty. 
The  site  of  the  great  conflict  (or  Mahabharata)  between  these  rival  clans,  is 
called  Kurukshetra,  or  '  Field  of  the  Kurus.' 

*  Herodotus  describes  the  ruinous  passion  for  play  amongst  the  Scythic 
hordes,  and  which  may  have  been  carried  west  by  Odin  into  Scandinavia 
and  Germany.  Tacitus  tells  us  that  the  Germans,  like  the  Pandus,  staked 
even  iiersonal  liberty,  and  were  sold  as  slaves  by  the  winner  [Germania,  24]. 


LATER  DYNASTIES  61 

on  which  the  empire  of  India  has  since  more  than  once  been 
contested  ^  and  lost. 

This  combat  was  fatal  to  the  dominant  influence  of  the  "  fifty- 
six  tribes  of  Yadu."  On  each  of  its  eighteen  days'  combat,  myriads 
were  slain  ;  for  "  the  father  knew  not  the  son,  nor  the  disciple  his 
preceptor." 

Victory  brought  no  happiness  to  Yudhishthira.  The  slaughter 
of  his  friends  disgusted  him  with  the  world,  and  he  determined 
to  withdraw  frona  it  ;  previously  performing,  at  Hastinapura, 
funeral  rites  for  Duryodhana  (slain  by  the  hands  of  Bhima), 
whose  ambition  and  bad  faith  had  originated  this  exterminating 
war.  "  Having  regained  his  kingdom,  he  proclaimed  a  new  era, 
and  placing  on  the  throne  of  Indraprastha,  Parikshita,  grandson 
to  Arjuna,  retired  to  Dwarka  with  KJrislina  and  Baldeva  :  and 
since  the  war  to  the  period  of  writing,  4638  j^ears  have  elapsed."  - 

Yudhishthira,  Baldeva,  and  Krishna,  having  retired  with  the 
wreck  of  this  ill-fated  struggle  to  Dwarka,  the  two  former  had 
soon  to  lament  the  death  of  Krishna,  slain  by  one  of  the  aboriginal 
tribes  of  Bhils  ;  against  whom,  from  their  shattered  condition, 
they  were  luiable  to  contend.  After  this  event,  Yudhishthira, 
with  [51]  Baldeva  and  a  few  followers,  entirely  withdrew  from 
India,  and  emigrating  northwards,  by  Sind,  to  the  Himalayan 
mountains,  are  there  abandoned  by  Hindu  traditional  history, 
and  are  supposed  to  have  perished  in  the  snows.' 

^  On  it  the  last  Hindu  monarch,  Prithwiraja,  lost  his  kingdom,  his  hberty, 
and  life. 

2  Rajatarangini.     The  period  of  writing  was  a.d.  1740.  ; 

^  Having  ventured  to  surmise  analogies  between  the  Hercules  of  the  east 
and  west,  I  shall  carry  them  a  point  further.  Amidst  the  snows  of  Caucasus, 
Hindu  legend  abandons  the  Harikulas,  under  their  leaders  Yudhishthira 
and  Baldeva  :  yet  if  Alexander  estabhshed  his  altars  in  Panchala,  amongst 
the  sons  of  Puru  and  the  Harikulas,  what  physical  impossibility  exists  that 
a  colony  of  them,  under  Yudhishthira  and  Baldeva,  eight  centuries  anterior, 
should  have  penetrated  to  Greece  ?  Comparatively  far  advanced  in  science 
and  arms,  the  conquest  would  have  been  easy.  When  Alexander  attacked 
the  '  free  cities '  of  Panchala,  the  Purus  and  Harikulas  who  opposed  him 
evinced  the  recollections  of  their  ancestor,  in  carrying  the  figure  of  Hercules 
as  their  standard.  Comparison  proves  a  common  origin  to  Hindu  and 
Grecian  mythology  ;  and  Plato  says  the  Greeks  had  theirs  from  Egypt  and 
the  East.  May  not  this  colony  of  the  Harikulas  be  the  Herachdae,  who  pene- 
trated into  the  Peloponnesus  (according  to  Volney)  1078  years  before  Christ, 
sufficiently  near  our  calculated  period  of  the  Great  War  ?  The  Herachdae 
claimed  from  Atreus  :   the  Harikxilas  claim  from  Atri.     Eurysthenes  was 


62  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

From  Parikshita,  who  succeeded  Yudhishthira,  to  Vikrama- 
ditya,  four  ^  dynasties  are  given  in  a  continuous  chain,  exhibiting 
sixty-six  princes  to  Rajpal,  who,  invading  Kumaon,  was  slain  by 
Sukwanti.  The  Kumaun  conqueror  seized  upon  Delhi,  but  was 
soon  dispossessed  by  Vikramaditya,  who  transferred  the  seat  of 
imperial  power  from  Indraprastha  to  Avanti,  or  Ujjain,  from 
which  time  it  became  the  first  meridian  of  the  Hindu  astronomy. 

Indraprastha  ceased  to  be  a  regal  abode  for  eight  centuries, 
when  it  was  re-established  by  Anangpal,^  the  founder  of  the  Tuar 
race,  claiming  descent  from  the  Pandus.  Then  the  name  of  Delhi 
superseded  that  of  Indraprastha. 


the  first  king  of  the  HeracUdae  :  Yudhishthira  has  suflEicient  affinity  in 
name  to  the  first  Spartan  king  not  to  startle  the  etymologist,  the  d  and 
r  being  always  permutable  in  Sanskrit.  The  Greeks  or  lonians  are  de- 
scended from  Yavan,  or  Javan,  the  seventh  from  Japhet.  The  Harikulas 
are  also  Yavans  claiming  from  Javan  or  Yavan,  the  thirteenth  in  descent 
from  Yayati,  the  third  son  of  the  primeval  patriarch.  The  ancient  Hera- 
clidae  of  Greece  asserted  they  were  as  old  as  the  sun,  and  older  than  the 
moon.  May  not  this  boast  conceal  the  fact  that  the  Heliadae  (or  Suryct- 
vansa)  of  Greece  had  settled  there  anterior  to  the  colony  of  the  Indu  (Lunar) 
race  of  Harikula  ?  In  all  that  relates  to  the  mythological  history  of  the 
Indian  demi-gods,  Baldeva  (Hercules),  Krishna  or  Kanhaiya  (Apollo),  and 
Budha  (Mercury),  a  powerful  and  almost  perfect  resemblance  can  be  traced 
))etween  those  of  Hindu  legend,  Greece,  and  Egypt.  Baldeva  (the  god  of 
strength)  Harikula,  is  still  worshipped  as  in  the  days  of  Alexander ;  his 
shrine  at  Baldeo  in  Vraj  (the  Surasenoi  of  the  Greeks),  his  club  a  plough- 
share, and  a  lion's  skin  his  covering.  A  Hindu  intaglio  of  rare  value 
represents  Hercules  exactly  as  described  by  Arrian,  with  a  monogram  con- 
sisting of  two  ancient  characters  now  unknown,  but  which  I  have  found 
wherever  tradition  assigns  a  spot  to  the  Harikulas  ;  especially  in  Saurashtra, 
where  they  were  long  concealed  on  their  exile  from  Delhi.  This  we  may 
at  once  decide  to  be  the  exact  figure  of  Hercules  which  Arrian  describes 
his  descendants  to  have  carried  as  their  standard,  when  Porus  opposed 
Alexander.  The  intaglio  will  appear  in  the  Trans.  li.A.S.  [The  specula- 
tions in  this  note  have  no  authority.] 

^  The  twenty-eighth  prince,  Khemraj,  was  the  last  in  lineal  descent  from 
Parikshita,  the  grand-nephew  of  Yudhishthira.  The  first  dynasty  lasted 
1 864  years.  The  second  dynasty  was  of  Visarwa,  and  consisted  of  fourteen 
princes  ;  this  lasted  five  hundred  years.  The  third  dynasty  was  headed  by 
Mahraj,  and  terminated  by  Antinai,  the  fifteenth  prince.  The  fourth 
dynasty  was  headed  by  Dudhsen,  and  terminated  by  Rajpal,  the  ninth  and 
last  king  (Rajatarangini). 

'^  The  Rajatarangini  gives  the  date  A.v.  848,  or  a.v.  792,  for  this ;  and 
adds  :  "  Princes  from  Siwalik,  or  northern  hills,  held  it  during  this  time, 
and  it  long  continued  desolate  until  the  Tuars." 


LATER  DYNASTIES  63 

"  Sukwanti,  a  prince  from  the  northern  mountains  of  Kumaun, 
ruled  fourteen  [52]  years,  when  he  was  slain  by  Vikramaditya  ;  ^ 
and  from  the  Bharat  to  this  period  2915  years  have  elapsed."  * 

Such  a  period  asserted  to  have  elapsed  while  sixty-six  princes 
occupied  the  throne,  gives  an  average  of  forty-four  years  to  each  ; 
which  is  incredible,  if  not  absolutely  impossible. 

In  another  passage  the  compiler  says  :  "  I  have  read  many 
books  (shastras),  and  all  agreed  to  make  one  hundred  princes, 
all  of  Khatri  ^  race,  occupy  the  throne  of  Delhi  from  Yudhishthira 
to  Pritliwiraja,  a  period  of  4100  years,*  after  which  the  Ravad  * 
race  succeeded." 

It  is  fortunate  for  these  remnants  of  historical  data  that  thej^ 
have  only  extended  the  duration  of  reigns,  and  not  added  more 
heads.  Sixty-six  links  are  quite  sufficient  to  connect  Yudhishthira 
and  Vikramaditya. 

We  cannot  object  to  the  "  one  hundred  princes  "  who  fill  the 
space  assigned  from  Yudhishthira  to  Prithwiraja,  though  there 
is  no  proportion  between  the  number  which  precedes  and  that 
which  follows  Vikramaditya,  the  former  being  sixty-six,  the  latter 
only  thirty-four  princes,  although  the  period  cannot  differ  half 
a  century. 

I^et  us  apply  a  test  to  these  one  hundred  kings,  from  Yudhish 
thira  to  Prithwiraja  :   the  result  will  be  2250  years. 

This  test  is  derived  from  the  average  rate  of  reigns  of  the  chief 
dynasties  of  Rajasthan,  during  a  pei-iod  of  63.S  ®  to  663  '  years,  I 
or  from  Prithwiraja  to  the  present  date.  \>^©:.\   OP  K<^^ 

1  .50  B.C.     [Cunningham  remarks  that  the  defeat  of  Raja  Pal  of  Delhi    Vw'^ 
bj^  Sukwanti,  Sukdati,  or  Sukaditya,  Raja  of  Kumaun,  must  be  assigned  to 
A.D.  79  :  but  he  has  little  confidence  in  such. traditions,  iniless  supported  by 
independent  evidence  {ASB,  i.  1.38).] 

-  Raghunath.  ^  J^^jput,  or  Kshatriya. 

*  'J'his  period  of  4100  years  may  have  been  arrived  at  by  the  compiler 
taking  for  granted  the  number  of  years  mentioned  by  Raghunath  as  having 
elapsed  from  the  Mahabharata  to  Vikrainaditya,  namely  291.5,  and  adding 
thereto  the  well-authenticated  period  of  Prithwiraja,  who  was  born  in 
iSamvat  1215  :  for  if  2915  be  subtracted  from  4100,  it  leaves  1185,  the  period 
within  thirty  years  of  the  birth  of  Prithwiraja,  according  to  the  Chauhan 
chronicles. 

*  Solar. 

*  From  S.  1250,  or  a.d.  1194,  captivity  and  dethronement  of  Pritliwiraja. 
'  From  S.  1212,  a.d.  1516,  the  founding  of  Jaisalmer  by  Jaisal,  to  the 

accession  of  Gaj  Singh,  the  present  prince,  in  S.  1876,  or  a.d.  1820. 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Of  Mewar  .  .  34  ^  princes,  or  19  years  to  each  reign. 

Of  Marwar  .  .  28  princes,  or  23i  „  ,, 

Of  Amber  .  .  29  princes,  or  22i  ,,  ,, 

Of  Jaisalmer  .  .  28  princes,  or  23J  ,,  ,, 

giving  an  average  of  twenty-two  years  for  each  reign  [53]. 

It  would  not  be  proper  to  ascribe  a  longer  period  to  each  reign, 
and  it  were  perhaps  better  to  give  the  minimum,  nineteen,  to 
extended  dynasties ;  and  to  the  sixty-six  princes  from  Yudhish- 
thira  and  Vikramaditya  not  even  so  much,  four  revolutions  ^  and 
usurpations  marking  this  period. 

Jarasandha. — The  remaining  line,  that  of  Jarasandha,  taken 
from  the  Bhagavat,  is  of  considerable  importance,  and  will  afford 
scope  for  further  speculation. 

Jarasandha  was  the  monarch  of  Rajagriha,^  or  Bihar,  whose 
son  Sahadeva,  and  grandson  Marjari,  are  declared  to  have  been 
contemporaries  of  the  Mahabharata,  and  consequently  coeval 
with  Parikshita,  the  Delhi  sovereign. 

The  direct  line  of  Jarasandha  terminates  in  twenty-three 
descents  with  Ripimjaya,  who  was  slain,  and  his  throne  assumed 
by  his  minister,  Sanaka,  whose  dynasty  terminated  in  the  fifth 
generation  with  Nandivardandhana.  Sanaka  derived  no  personal 
advantage  from  his  usurpation,  as  he  immediately  placed  his  son, 
Pradyota,  on  the  throne.  To  these  five  princes  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  years  are  assigned. 

A  new  race  entered  Hindustan,  led  by  a  conqueror  termed 
Sheshnag,  from  Sheshnagdesa,*  who  ascended  the  Pandu  throne, 

^  Many  of  its  early  princes  were  killed  in  battle  ;  and  the  present  prince's 
father  succeeded  his  own  nephew,  which  was  retrograding. 

^  The  historians  sanction  the  propriety  of  these  changes,  in  their  remarks, 
that  the  deposed  were  "  deficient  in  [capacity  for]  the  cares  and  duties  of 
government." 

®  Rajagriha,  or  Rajmahal,  capital  of  Magadhades,  or  Bihar.  [In  Patna 
district,  lOI,  xxi.  72.] 

*  Figuratively,  the  country  of  the  '  head  of  the  Snakes  ' ;  Nag,  Talc,  or 
Takshak,  being  synonymous  :  and  which  I  conclude  to  be  the  abode  of  the 
ancient  Scythic  Tachari  of  Strabo,  the  Tak-i-uks  of  the  Cliinese,  the  Tajiks 
of  the  present  day  of  Turkistan.  This  race  appears  to  be  the  same  with 
that  of  the  Turushka  (of  the  Puranas),  who  ruled  on  the  Arvarma  (the 
Araxes),  in  Sakadwipa,  or  Scytliia.  [This  is  a  confused  reference  to  the 
Saisunaga  dynasty,  which  took  its  name  from  its  founder,  Sisunaga,  and 
comprised  roughly  the  present  Patna  and  Gaya  districts,  its  capital  being 


LATER  DYNASTIES  65 

and  whose  line  terminates  in  ten  descents  with  Mahanandin,  of 
spurious  birth.  This  last  prince,  who  was  also  named  Baikyat, 
carried  on  an  exterminating  warfare  against  the  ancient  Rajput 
princes  of  pui-e  blood,  the  Puranas  declaring  that  since  the  dynasty 
of  Sheshnag  the  princes  were  Sudras.  Three  hundred  and  sixty 
years  are  allotted  to  these  ten  princes. 

Chandragupta  Maurya. — A  fourth  dynasty  commenced  with 
Chandragupta  Maurya,  of  the  same  Takshak  race.^  The  Maurya 
dynasty  consisted  of  ten  princes,  who  are  stated  to  have  passed 
away  in  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  years.     [322-185  B.C.] 

Sunga,  Kanva  Dynasties. — The  fifth  dynasty  of  eight  princes 
were  from  Sringides,  and  are  said  to  have  ruled  one  hundred  and 
twelve  years,  when  a  prince  of  Kanvades  deprived  the  last  of  life 
and  kingdom.  Of  these  eight  princes,  four  were  of  pure  blood, 
when  Kistna,  by  a  Sudra  woman,  succeeded.  The  dynasty  of 
Kanvades  terminates  in  twenty-three  generations  with  Sus- 
arman*  [54]. 

Recapitulation.  —  Thus  from  the  Great  War  six  successive 
dynasties  are  given,  presenting  a  continuous  chain  of  eighty-two 
princes,  reckoning  from  Sahadeva,  the  successor  of  Jarasandha, 
to  Susarman. 

To  some  of  the  short  dynasties  periods  are  assigned  of  moderate 
length  :   but  as  the  first  and  last  are  without  such  data,  the  test 

Rajagriha ;  the  modern  Rajglr-Sisunaga  means  '  a  young  elephant,'  and 
has  no  connexion  with  Sheshnag,  the  serpent  king  {Vishnu  Purana,  466  f.  ; 
Smith,  EHI,  31).] 

^  [Chandragupta  Maurya  was  certainly  not  a  "  Takshak  "  :  he  was 
probably  "  an  illegitimate  scion  of  the  Nanda  family  "  (Smith,  EHI,  42).] 

2  ]\'Ir.  Bentley  {'  On  the  Hindu  System  of  Astronomy,'  As.  Res.  vol.  viii. 
pp.  236-7)  states  that  the  astronomer,  Brahmagupta,  flourished  about 
A.D.  527,  or  of  Vikrama  583,  shortly  preceding  the  reign  of  Susarman  ;  that 
he  was  the  founder  of  the  system  called  the  Kalpa  of  Brahma,  on  v/hich  the 
present  Hindu  chronology  is  founded,  and  to  which  Mr.  Bentley  says  their 
historical  data  was  transferred.  This  would  strengthen  my  calculations  ; 
but  the  weight  of  Mr.  Bentley's  authority  has  been  much  weakened  by  his 
unwarrantable  attack  on  Mr.  Colebrooke,  whose  extent  of  knowledge  is  of 
double  value  from  his  entire  aversion  to  hypothesis.  [The  Sunga  dynasty, 
founded  by  Pushyamitra,  about  185  B.C.,  lasted  till  about  73  B.C.,  when  the 
tenth  king,  Devabhuti,  was  slain  by  his  Brahman  minister,  Vasudeva,  who 
founded  the  Kanva  dynasty.  He  was  followed  by  three  kings,  and  the 
dynasty  lasted  only  forty-five  years,  the  last  member  of  it  being  slain,  about 
28  B.C.,  by  a  king  of  the  Andhra  or  Satavahana  dynasty,  then  reigning  in 
the  Deccan.     For  the  scanty  details  see  Smith,  EHI,  198  fr.l 

VOL.  I  F 


66  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

already  decided  on  must  be  applied  ;  which  will  yield  1704  years, 
being  six  hundred  and  four  after  Vikramaditya,  whose  contem- 
porary will  thus  be  Basdeva,  the  fifty-fifth  prince  from  Sahadeva 
of  the  sixth  dynasty,  said  to  be  a  conqueror  from  the  country  of 
Katehr  [or  Rohilkhand].  If  these  calculations  possess  any  value, 
the  genealogies  of  the  Bhagavat  are  brought  down  to  the  close  of 
the  fifth  century  following  Vikramaditya.  As  we  cannot  admit 
the  gift  of  prophecy  to  the  compilers  of  these  books,  we  may  infer 
that  they  remodelled  their  ancient  chronicles  during  the  reign  of 
Susarman,  about  the  year  of  Vikrama  600,  or  a.d.  540. 

With  regard  to  calculations  already  adduced,  as  to  the  average 
number  of  years  for  the  reigns  of  the  foregoing  dynasties,  a  com- 
parison with  those  which  history  affords  of  other  parts  of  the 
world  will  supply  the  best  criterion  of  the  correctness  of  the 
assumed  data. 

From  the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  against  Rehoboam  ^  to  the 
capture  of  Jerusalem,  a  period  of  three  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
years,  twenty  kings  sat  on  the  throne  of  Judah,  making  each  reign 
nineteen  and  a  half  years  ;  but  if  we  include  the  three  anterior 
reigns  of  Saul,  David,  and  Solomon,  prior  to  the  revolt,  the  result 
will  be  twenty-six  and  a  half  years  each. 

From  the  dismemberment  of  the  Assjrrian  ^  empire  under 
Sardanapalus,  nearly  nine  hundred  years  before  Christ,  the  three 
consequent  confluent  dynasties  of  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Media 
afford  very  different  results  for  comparison. 

The  Assyrian  preserves  the  medium,  while  the  Babylonish  and 
Median  run  into  extremes.  Of  the  nine  princes  who  swayed 
Babylon,  from  the  period  of  its  separation  from,  till  its  reunion 
to  Assyria,  a  space  of  fifty-two  years,  Darius,  who  ruled  Media 
sixty  [thirty-six]  years  [55],  outhved  the  whole.  Of  the  line  of 
Darius  there  were  but  six  princes,  from  the  separation  of  the 
kingdoms  to  their  reunion  imder  Cyrus,  a  period  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy-four  years,  or  twenty-nine  to  each  reign. 

The  Assjo-ian  reigns  form  a  juster  medium.  From  Nebuchad- 
nezzar to  Sardanapalus  we  have  twenty-two  years  to  a  reign  ; 
but  from  thence  to  the  extinction  of  this  dynasty,  eighteen. 

The  first  eleven  kings,  the  Heraclidae  of  Laced aemon,  com- 

^  987  years  l^efore  Christ. 

^  For  these  and  tV.e  following  elates  I  am  indebted  to  Goguet's  chrono- 
logical  tables  in  his  Origin  of  Laws. 


LATER  DYNASTIES  67 

mencing  with  Eiirysthenes  (1078  before  Christ),  average  thirty- 
two  years  ;  while  in  repubhcan  Athens,  nearly  contemporary^ 
from  the  first  perpetual  archon  until  the  office  became  decennial 
in  the  seventh  Olympiad,  the  reigns  of  the  twelve  chief  magis- 
trates average  twenty-eight  years  and  a  half. 

Thus  we  have  three  periods,  Jewish,  Spartan,  and  Athenian, 
each  commencing  about  eleven  hundred  years  before  Christ,  not 
half  a  century  remote  from  the  Mahabharata  ;  with  those  of 
Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Media,  commencing  where  we  quit  the 
Grecian,  in  the  eighth  century  before  the  Christian  era,  the  Jewish 
ending  in  the  sixth  century. 

However  short,  compared  with  our  Solar  and  Lunar  dynasties, 
yet  these,  combined  Avith  the  average  reigns  of  existing  Hindu 
dynasties,  will  aid  the  judgment  in  estimating  the  periods  to  be 
assigned  to  the  lines  thus  afforded,  instead  of  following  the  improb- 
able value  attached  by  the  Brahmans. 

From  such  data,  longevity  appears  in  unison  with  climate  and 
simplicity  of  life  :  the  Spartan  yielding  the  maximimi  of  thirty- 
two  to  a  reign,  while  the  more  luxurious  Athens  gives  twenty- 
eight  and  a  half.  The  Jews,  from  Saul  t6  their  exile  "  to  the  waters 
of  Babylon,"  twenty-six  and  a  half.  The  Medes  equal  the  Lace- 
daemonians, and  in  all  history  can  only  be  paralleled  by  the 
princes  of  Anhilwara,  one  of  whom,  Chawand,  almost  equalled 
Darius.^  ^ 

Of  the  separated  ten  tribes,  from  the  revolt  to  the  captivity, 
twenty  kings  of  Israel  passed  away  in  two  centuries,  or  ten  years 
eacli. 

The  Spartan  and  Assyrian  present  the  extremes  of  thirty-two 
and  eighteen,  giving  a  medium  of  twenty-five  years  to  a  reign. 

The  average  result  of  our  four  Hindu  dynasties,  in  a  period  of 
nearly  seven  hundred  years,  is  twenty-two  years. 

From  all  which  data,  I  would  presume  to  assign  from  twenty 
to  twenty- two  years  to  each  reign  in  lines  of  fifty  princes  [56]. 

If  the  value  thus  obtained  be  satisfactory,  and  the  lines  of 
dynasties  derived  from  so  many  authorities  correct,  we  shall 
arrive  at  the  same  conclusion  with  Mr.  Bentley  ;  who,  by  the 
more    philosophical    process    of    astronomical    and    genealogical 

^  [It  is  not  clear  to  whom  the  author  refers  ;  Chamunda  Chavada  (a.d. 
880-908):  or  Chamunda  Chauhikya  (a.d.  997-1010),  {EG,  i.  Part  1.  151, 
162).] 


68  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

combination,  places  Yudhishtliira's  era  in  the  year  2825  of  the 
world  ;  which  being  taken  from  4004  (the  world's  age  at  the  birth 
of  Christ)  will  leave  1179  before  Christ  for  Yudhishthira's  era, 
or  1123  before  Vikramaditya.^ 


CHAPTER  6 

Rajputs  and  Mongols. — Having  thus  brought  down  the  genea- 
logical history  of  the  ancient  martial  races  of  India,  from  the  earliest 
period  to  Yudhishthira  and  Krishna,  and  thence  to  Vikrama- 
ditya  and  the  present  day,  a  few  observations  on  the  races  invading 
India  during  that  time,  and  now  ranked  amongst  the  thirty-six 
royal  races  of  Rajasthan,  affording  scope  for  sonic  curious  analogies, 
may  not  be  inopportune. 

The  tribes  here  alluded  to  are  the  Haihaya  or  Aswa,  the  Takshak, 
and  the  Jat  or  Getae  ;  the  similitude  of  whose  theogony,  names 
in  their  early  genealogies,  and  many  other  points,  with  the  Chinese, 
Tatar,  Mogul,  Hindu,  and  Scythic  races,  would  appear  to  warrant 
the  assertion  of  one  common  origin. 

Though  the  periods  of  the  passage  of  these  tribes  into  India 
cannot  be  stated  with  exactitude,  the  regions  whence  they  migrated 
may  more  easily  be  ascertained. 

Mongol  Origin. — Let  us  compare  the  origin  of  the  Tatars  and 
Moguls,  as  given  by  their  historian,  Abulghazi,  with  the  races  we 
have  been  treating  of  from  the  Puranas. 

Mogol  was  the  name  of  the  Tatarian  patriarch.  His  son  was 
Aghuz,''  the  founder  of  all  the  races  of  those  northern  regions, 
called  Tatars  and  Mogol  [57].  Aghuz  had  six  sons.^  First,  Kun,* 
'  the  sun,'  the  Surya  of  the  Puranas  ;   secondly,  Ai,^  '  the  moon,' 

^  [The  evidence  quoted  in  this  chapter  bj^  which  the  author  endeavours 
1 1  frame  a  chronology  for  this  early  period,  is  untrustworthy.  Mr.  Pargiter 
tentatively  dates  the  great  Bharata  battle  about  1000  B.C.,  but  the  evidence 
is  very  uncertain  {JRAS,  January  1910,  p.  56  ;   April  1914,  p.  294).] 

^  Query,  if  from  Mogol  and  Aghuz,  compounded,  we  have  not  the  Magog, 
son  of  Japhet,  of  Scripture  ? 

^  The  other  four  sons  are  the  remaining  elements,  personified  :  whence 
the  six  races  of  Tatars.  The  Hindus  had  long  but  two  races,  till  the  four 
AgnOcula  made  them  also  six,  and  now  thirty-six  ! 

*  In  Tatar,  according  to  Abulghazi,  the  sun  and  moon. 

^  De  Giiignes. 


I 


MONGOL  AND  HINDU  TRADITIONS  69 

the  Indu  of  the  Puranas.  In  the  latter,  Ai,  we  have  even  the 
same  name  [Ayus]  as  in  the  Puranas  for  the  Lunar  ancestor.  The 
Tatars  all  claim  from  Ai,  '  the  moon,'  the  Indus  of  the  Puranas. 
Hence  with  them,  as  with  the  German  tribes,  the  moon  was  always 
a  male  deity.  The  Tatar  Ai  had  a  son,  Yulduz.  His  son^was 
Hyu,  from  whom  ^  came  the  first  race  of  the  kings  of  China.  The 
Puranic  Ayus  had  a  son,  Yadu  (pronounced  Jadon)  ;  from  whose 
third  son,  Haya,  the  Hindu  genealogist  deduces  no  line,  and 
from  whom  the  Chinese  may  claim  their  Indu  ^  origin.  II  Khan 
(ninth  from  Ai)  had  two  sons  :  first,  Kian  ;  and  secondly,  Nagas  ; 
whose  descendants  peopled  all  Tatary.  From  Kian,  Jenghiz 
Ivlian  claimed  descent.^  Nagas  was  probablj-  the  founder  of  the 
Takshak,  or  Snake  race  '  of  the  Puranas  and  Tatar  genealogists, 
the  Tak-i-uk  Moguls  of  De  Guignes. 

Such  are  the  comparative  genealogical  origins  of  the  three 
races.  Let  us  compare  their  thcogony,  the  fabulous  birth  assigned 
by  each  for  the  founder  of  the  Indu  race. 

Mongol  and  Hindu  Traditions. — 1.  The  Puranic.  "  Ila  {the 
earth),  daughter  of  the  sun-born  Ikshwaku,  while  wandering  in  the 
forests  was  encountered  by  Budha  {Mercury),  and  from  the  rape 
of  Ila  sprimg  the  Indu  race." 

2.  The  Chinese  account  of  the  birth  of  Yu  (Ayu),  their  first 
monarch.  "  A  star  *  (Mercury  or  Fo)  struck  his  mother  while 
journeying.  She  conceived,  and  gave  to  the  world  Yu,  the 
founder  of  the  first  dynasty  which  reigned  in  China.  Yu  divided 
China  into  nine  provinces,  and  began  to  reign  2207  ^  years  before 
Christ "  [58]. 

Thus  the  Ai  of  the  Tatars,  the  Yu  of  the  Chinese,  and  the  Ayus 

^  Sir  W.  Jones  says  the  Chinese  assert  their  Hindu  origin  ;  but  a  com- 
parison proves  both  these  Indu  races  to  be  of  Scj^thic  origin.  [Yadu  was  son 
of  Yayati,  and  Haya  was  Yadu's  grandson,  not  son.  The  comparison  of 
Mongol  with  Hindu  tradition  is  of  no  value.] 

^  [For  the  Mongol  genealogy  see  Howorth,  History  of  the  Mongols,  Part  i. 
35.  Abu-I  Fazl  {Akbarnama,  trans.  H.  Beveridge,  i.  171  f.)  gives  the  names 
as  follows  :  Aghuz  Khan,  whose  sons  were — Kun  (Sun) ;  Ai  (Moon) ;  Yulduz 
(Star)  ;   Kok  or  Gok  (Sky) ;   Tagh  (Mountain) ;   Tangiz  (Sky)]. 

^  Naga  and  Takshak  are  Sanskrit  names  for  a  snake  or  serpent,  the 
emblem  of  Budha  or  Mercury.  The  Naga  race,  so  well  known  to  India, 
the  Takshaks  or  Takiuks  of  Scythia,  invaded  India  about  six  centuries 
before  Clirist. 

*  De  Guignes,  Sur  Us  Dynasties  des  Huns,  vol.  i.  p.  7. 

^  Nearly  the  calculated  period  from  the  Puranas. 


70  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

of  the  Puranas,  evidently  indicate  the  great  Indu  (Lunar)  pro- 
genitor of  the  three  races.  Budha  (Mercury),  the  son  of  Indu 
(the  moon),  became  the  patriarchal  and  spiritual  leader  ;  as  Fo, 
in  China  ;  Woden  and  Teutates,^  of  the  tribes  migrating  to 
Europe.  Hence  it  follows  that  the  religion  of  Buddha  must  be 
coeval  with  the  existence  of  these  nations  ;  that  it  was  brought 
into  India  Proper  by  them,  and  guided  them  until  the  schism  of 
Krishna  and  the  Suryas,  worshippers  of  Bal,  in  time  depressed 
them,  when  the  Buddha  reUgion  was  modified  into  its  present  mild 
form,  the  Jain.^ 

Scythian  Traditions. — Let  us  contrast  with  these  the  origin  of 
the  Scythic  nations,  as  related  by  Diodorus  ;  *  when  it  will  be 
observed  the  same  legends  were  known  to  him  which  have  been 
handed  down  by  the  Puranas  and  Abulghazi. 

"  The  Scythians  had  their  first  abodes  on  the  Araxes.*  Their 
origin  was  from  a  virgin  born  of  the  earth  ^  of  the  shape  of  a 
woman  from  the  waist  upwards,  and  below  a  serpent  (symbol 
of  Budlia  or  Mercury)  ;  that  Jupiter  had  a  son  by  her,  named 
Scythes,"  whose  name  the  nation  adopted.  Scythes  had  two 
sons,  Palas  and  Napas  (qu.  the  Nagas,  or  Snake  race,  of  the  Tatar 
genealogy  ?),  who  were  celebrated  for  their  great  actions,  and  who 
divided  the  countries  ;  and  the  nations  were  called  after  them, 
the  Palians  {qu.  Pali  ?) '  and  Napians.  They  led  their  forces  as 
far  as  the  Nile  on  Egypt,  and  subdued  many  nations.  They 
enlarged  the  empire  of  the  Scythians  as  far  as  the  Eastern  ocean, 

^  Taulh,  '  father '  in  Sanskrit  [?  tata].  Qu.  Tenths,  and  Toth,  the 
Mercury  of  Egypt  ? 

*  [The  author  seems  to  confuse  Budha  (Mercury)  with  Gautama  Bnddha, 
the  teacher.  Buddhism  arose  in  India,  not  in  Central  Asia,  and  Jainism 
was  not  a  milder  form  of  it,  but  an  independent,  and  probably  earher, 
rehgion.] 

3  Diodorus  Siculus  book  ii. 

*  The  Arvarma  of  the  Puranas ;  the  Jaxartes  or  Sihun.  The  Puranas 
thus  describe  Sakadwipa  or  Scythia.  Diodorus  (Mb.  ii.)  makes  the  Hemodus 
the  boundary  between  Saka-Scythia  and  India  Proper. 

^  Ila,  the  mother  of  the  Lunar  race,  is  the  earth  personified.  Ertha  of 
the  Saxons  ;  e'pa  of  the  Greeks  ;  ard  in  Hebrew  [?]. 

*  Scythes,  from  Sakaiai,  '  Sakadwipa,'  and  is,  '  Lord  '  :  Lord  of  Sakatai, 
or  Scythia  [?]. 

^  Qu.  Whether  the  Scythic  Pali  may  not  be  the  shepherd  invaders  of 
Egypt  [?].  The  Pali  character  yet  exists,  and  appears  the  same  as  ancient 
fragments  of  the  Buddha  inscriptions  in  my  possession  :  manj'^  letters 
assimilate  with  the  Coptic. 


LATER  GENEALOGIES  71 

and  to  the  Caspian  and  lake  INIoeotis.  The  nation  had  many  kings, 
from  whom  the  Sacans  (Sakae),  the  Massagetae  ( Getae  or  Jats),  the 
Ari-aspians  (Aswas  of  Aria),  and  many  other  races.  They  over- 
ran Assyria  and  Media  ^  [59],  overturning  the  empire,  and  trans- 
I^hinting  the  inliabitants  to  tlie  Araxes  under  the  name  of  Sauro- 
Matians."  ^ 

As  the  Sakae,  Getae,  Aswa,  and  Takshak  are  names  which 
have  crept  in  amongst  our  thirty-six  royal  races,  common  with 
others  also  to  early  civilization  in  Europe,  let  us  seek  further 
ancient  authority  on  the  original  abodes. 

Strabo  ^  says  :  "  All  the  tribes  east  of  the  Caspian  are  called 
Scythic.  The  Dahae  *  next  the  sea,  the  Massagetae  (great  Gete) 
and  Sakae  more  eastward  ;  but  every  tribe  has  a  particular  name. 
All  are  nomadic  :  but  of  these  nomads  the  best -known  are  the 
Asii,^  the  Pasiani,  Tochari,  Sacarauli,  who  took  Bactria  from  the 
Greeks.  The  Sakae  "  ('  races  ')  have  made  in  Asia  irruptions 
similar  to  those  of  the  Cimmerians  ;  thus  they  have  been  seen  to 
possess  themselves  of  Bactria,  and  the  best  district  of  Armenia, 
called  after  them  Sakasenae."  ' 

Which  of  the  tribes  of  Rajasthan  are  the  offspring  of  the  Aswa 
and  Medes,  of  Indu  race,  returned  under  new  appellations,  we 

^  The  three  great  branches  of  the  Indu  (Lunar)  Aswa  bore  the  epithet  of 
Midia  (pronounced  Mede),  viz.  Urumidha,  Ajamidha,  and  Dvimidha.  Qii. 
The  Aswa  invaders  of  Assyria  and  Media,  the  sons  of  Bajaswa,  expressly 
stated  to  have  multiplied  in  the  countries  west  of  the  Indus,  emigrating 
from  their  paternal  seats  in  Panchalaka  ?  {Mldha  means  '  pouring  out 
seed,  prolific,'  and  has  no  connexion  with  Mede,  the  Madai  of  Genesis 
X.  2  ;    the  Assyrian  Mada.] 

^  Sun-worshippers,  the  Suryavansa. 

3  Strabo  lib.  xi.  p.  511. 

*  Dahya  (one  of  the  thirty-six  tribes),  now  extinct. 

*  The  Asii  and  Tochari,  the  Aswa  and  Takshak,  or  Turushka  races,  of 
the  Puranas,  of  Sakadwipa  [?].  "  C'est  vraisemblablement  d'apres  le  nom 
de  Tachari,  que  M.  D'Anville  aura  cru  devoir  placer  les  tribus  ainsi  de- 
nommees  dans  le  territoire  qui  s'appelle  aujourdhui  Tokarist'hpon,  situe, 
dit  ce  grand  geographe,  entre  les  montagnes  et  le  Gihon  ou  Amou  "  (Note  3, 
hv.  xi.  p.  254,  Strabon). 

*  Once  more  I  may  state  Sakha  in  Sanskrit  has  the  aspirate  :  literally, 
the  '  branches  '  or  '  races.'  [Saka  and  Sakha  have  no  connexion  ;  see 
Smith,  EHI,  226.] 

'  "  La  Sacasene  etoit  une  contree  do  I'Armenie  sur  les  confins  de  I'Albanie 
ou  du  Shirvan"  (Note  4,  tome  i.  p.  191,  Strabon).  "  The  Sacasenae  v.'cre 
the  ancestors  of  the  Saxons"  (Turner's  History  of  the  Anglo -Saxons). 


72  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

shall  not  now  stop  to  inquire,  limiting  our  hypothesis  to  the  fact 
of  invasions,  and  adducing  some  evidence  of  such  being  simul- 
taneous with  migrations  of  the  same  bands  into  Europe.  Hence 
the  inference  of  a  common  origin  between  the  Rajput  and  early 
races  of  Europe ;  to  support  which,  a  similar  mythology,  martial 
manners  and  poetry,  language,  and  even  music  and  architectural 
ornaments,  may  be  adduced.^ 

Of  the  first  migrations  of  the  Indu-Scythic  Getae,  Takshak, 
and  Asii,  into  India,  that  of  Sheshnag  (Takshak),  from  Shesh- 
nagdes  (Tocharistan  ?)  or  Sheshnag,  six  centuries,  by  calculation, 
before  Christ,  is  the  first  noticed  by  the  Puranas.^  About  this 
period  a  grand  irruption  of  the  same  races  conquered  Asia  Minor, 
and  [60]  eventually  Scandinavia  ;  and  not  long  after  the 
Asii  and  Tochari  overturned  the  Greek  kingdom  of  Bactria,  the 
Romans  felt  the  power  of  the  Asi,'  the  Chatti,  and  Cimbri,  from 
the  Baltic  shore. 

"  If  we  can  show  the  Germans  to  have  been  originally  Scythae 
or  Goths  (Getes  or  Jits),  a  wide  field  of  curiosity  and  inquiry  is 
open  to  the  origin  of  government,  manners,  etc.  ;  all  the  anti- 
quities of  Europe  will  assume  a  new  appearance,  and,  instead  of 
being  traced  to  the  bands  of  Germany,  as  Montesquieu  and  the 
greatest  writers  have  hitherto  done,  may  be  followed  through 
long  descriptions  of  the  manners  of  the  Scythians,  etc.,  as  given 
by  Herodotus.  Scandinavia  was  occupied  by  the  Scythae  five 
hundred  years  before  Christ.  These  Scythians  worshipped 
Mercury  (Budha),  Woden  or  Odin,  and  believed  themselves  his 
progeny.     The  Gothic  mythology,  by  parallel,  might  be  shown 

^  Herodotus  (iv.  12)  says  :  "  The  Cimmerians,  expelled  by  the  Massa- 
getae,  migrated  to  the  Crimea."  Here  were  the  Thj'ssagetae,  or  western 
Getae  [the  lesser  Getae,  Herodotus  iv..22];  and  thence  both  the  Getae  and 
Cimbri  found  their  way  to  the  Baltic.  Rubruc{uis  the  Jesuit,  describing  the 
monuments  of  the  Comani  in  the  Dasht-i  Kipchak,  whence  these  tribes,  saj's : 
"  Their  monuments  and  circles  of  stones  are  like  our  Celtic  or  Druidical 
remains  "  (Bell's  Collection).  The  Khuman  are  a  branch  of  the  Kathi  tribe 
of  Saurashtra,  whose  paliyas,  or  funeral  monumental  pillars,  are  seen  in 
groups  at  every  town  and  village.  The  Chatti  were  one  of  the  early  German 
tribes.  [Needless  to  say,  the  German  Chatti  had  no  connexion  with  the 
Kathi  of  Gujarat.] 

^  [The  reference,  again,  is  to  the  Saisunaga  dynasty,  p.  64  above.] 
'  Asi  was  the  term  applied  to  the  Getes,  Yeuts,  or  Juts,  when  they  in- 
vaded Scandinavia  and  founded  Yeutland  or  Jutland  (see  '  Edda,^  Mallet's 
Introduction). 


SCYTHIANS  AND  GERMANS  73 

to  be  Grecian,  whose  gods  were  the  progeny  of  Coehis  and  Terra 
(Budha  and  EUa).^  Dryads,  satyrs,  fairies,  and  all  the  Greek 
and  Roman  superstition,  may  be  found  in  the  Scandinavian 
creed.  The  Goths  consulted  the  heart  of  victims^  had  oracles, 
had  sibyls,  had  a  Venus  in  Freya,  and  Parcae  in  the  Valkyrie."  ^ 

The  Scythian  Descent  of  the  Rajputs. — Ere  we  proceed  to  trace 
these  mythological  resemblances,  let  us  adduce  further  opinions 
in  proof  of  the'position  assumed  of  a  common  origin  of  the  tribes 
of  early  Europe  and  the  Scj^thic  Rajput. 

The  translator  of  Abulghazi,  in  his  preface,  observes  :  "  Our 
contempt  for  the  Tatars  would  lessen  did  we  consider  how  nearly 
we  stand  related  to  them,  and  that  our  ancestors  originally  came 
from  the  north  of  Asia,  and  that  our  customs,  laws,  and  way  of 
living  were  formerly  the  same  as  theirs.  In  short,  that  we  are 
no  other  than  a  colony  of  Tatars. 

"  It  was  from  Tatary  those  jDcople  came,  who,  imder  the  suc- 
cessive names  of  Cymbrians,*  Kelts,  and  Gauls,  possessed  all  the 
northern  part  of  Europe.  What  were  the  Goths,  Huns,  Alans, 
Swedes,  Vandals,  Franks,  but  swarms  of  the  same  hive  ?  The 
Swedish  chronicles  bring  the  Swedes  *  from  Cashgar,  and  [61]  the 
affinity  between  the  Saxon  language  and  Kipchak  is  great  ;  and 
the  Keltick  language  still  subsisting  in  Britany  and  Wales  is  a 
demonstration  that  the  inhabitants  are  descended  from  Tatar 
nations." 

^  Mercury  and  earth. 

^  Pinkerton,  On  the  Goths,  vol.  ii.  p.  94.     [All  this  is  obsolete.] 

^  Camari  was  one  of  the  eight  sons  of  Japhet,  says  Abulghazi :  whence 
the  Camari,  Cimmerii,  or  Cimbri.  Karaari  is  one  of  the  tribes  of  Saurashtra. 
[Kymry  =  fellow-countrymen  (Rhys,  Celtic  Britain,  116).] 

*  The  Suiones,  Suevi,  or  Su.  Now  the  Su,  Yueh-chi,  or  Yuti,  are  Getes, 
according  to  De  Guignes.  Marco  Polo  calls  Cashgar,  where  he  was  in  the 
sixth  century,  the  birthplace  of  the  Swedes  ;  and  De  la  Croix  adds,  that  in 
1691  Sparvenfeldt,  the  Swedish  ambassador  at  Paris,  told  him  he  had  read 
in  Swedish  chronicles  that  Cashgar  was  their  country.  When  the  Huns 
were  chased  from  the  north  of  China,  the  greater  part  retired  into  the 
southern  countries  adjoining  Europe.  The  rest  passed  directly  to  the  Oxus 
and  Jaxartes ;  thence  they  spread  to  the  Caspian  and  Persian  frontiers. 
In  Mawaru-1-nahr  (Transoxiana)  they  mixed  with  the  Su,  the  Yueh-chi,  or 
Getes,  who  were  particularly  powerful,  and  extended  into  Europe.  One 
would  be  tempted  to  regard  them  as  the  ancestors  of  those  Getes  who  were 
known  in  Europe.  Some  bands  of  Su  might  equally  pass  into  the  north  of 
Europe,  known  as  the  Suevi.  [The  meaning  of  Suevi  is  uncertain,  but  the 
word  has  no  connexion  with  that  of  any  Central  Asian  tribe.] 


74  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

From  between  the  parallels  of  30°  and  50°  of  north  latitude, 
and  from  75°  to  95°  of  east  longitude,  the  highlands  of  Central 
Asia,  alike  removed  from  the  fires  of  the  equator  and  the  cold  of 
the  arctic  circle,  migrated  the  races  which  passed  into  Europe  and 
within  the  Indus.  We  must  therefore  voyage  up  the  Indus, 
cross  the  Paropanisos,  to  the  Oxus  or  Jihun,  to  Sakatai  ^  or 
Sakadwipa,  and  from  thence  and  the  Dasht-i  Kipchak  conduct 
the  Takshaks,  the  Getae,  the  Kamari,  the  Chatti,  and  the  Huns, 
into  the  plains  of  Hindustan. 

We  have  much  to  learn  in  these  unexplored  regions,  the  abode 
of  ancient  civilisation,  and  which,  so  late  as  Jenghiz  Khan's 
invasion,  abounded  with  large  cities.  It  is  an  error  to  suppose 
that  the  nations  of  Higher  Asia  were  merely  pastoral  ;  and  De 
Guignes,  from  original  authorities,  informs  us  that  when  the  Su 
invaded  the  Yueh-chi  or  Jats,  they  found  upwards  of  a  hundred 
cities  containing  the  merchandise  of  India,  and  with  the  currency 
bearing  the  effigies  of  the  prince. 

Such  was  the  state  of  Central  Asia  long  before  the  Christian 
era,  though  now  depopulated  and  rendered  desert  by  desolating 
wars,  which  have  raged  in  these  countries,  and  to  which  Europe 
can  exhibit  no  parallel.  Timur's  wars,  in  more  modern  times, 
against  the  Getic  nation,  will  illustrate  the  paths  of  his  ambitious 
predecessors  in  the  career  of  destruction. 

If  we  examine  the  political  limits  of  the  great  Getic  nation  in 
the  time  of  Cyrus,  six  centuries  before  Christ,  we  shall  find  them 
little  circumscribed  in  power  on  the  rise  of  Timur,  though  twenty 
centuries  had  elapsed  [62]. 

Jats  and  Getae. — At  this  period  (a.d.  1.330),  under  the  last 
prince  of  Getic  race,  Tuglilak  Timur  Khan,  the  kingdom  of 
Chagatai  ^  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Dasht-i  Kipchak,  and 

^  Mr.  Pinkerton's  research  had  discovered  Sakatai,  though  he  does  not 
give  his  authority  (D'Anville)  for  the  Sakadwipa  of  the  Puranas  !  "  Sakitai, 
a  region  at  the  fountains  of  the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes,  styled  Sakita  from  the 
Sacae"  (D'Anville,  Anc.  Geog.).  The  Yadus  of  Jaisalmer,  who  ruled 
Zabulistan  and  founded  Ghazni,  claim  the  Chagatais  as  of  their  own  Indu 
stock  :  a  claim  which,  without  deep  reflection,  appeared  inadmissible  ; 
but  which  I  now  deem  worthy  of  credit. 

-  Chagatai,  or  Sakatai,  the  Sakadwipa  of  the  Puranas  (corrupted  by  the 
Greeks  to  Scythia),  "  whose  inhabitants  worship  the  sun  and  whence  is  the 
river  Arvarma."  [For  the  Chagatai  Mongols  see  EUas-Ross,  History  of  the 
Moghuh  of  Central  Asia,  Introd.  28  if.] 


JATS  and  GETAE  75 

on  the  south  by  the  Jihun,  on  which  river  the  Getic  Khan,  hke 
Tomyris,  had  his  capital.  Kokhand,  Tashkent,  Utrar,^  Cyropolis, 
and  the  most  northern  of  the  Alexandrias,  were  within  the  bounds 
of  Chagatai. 

The  Getae,  Jut,  or  Jat,  and  Takshak  races,  which  occupy 
places  amongst  the  thirty-six  royal  races  of  India,  are  all  from 
the  region  of  Sakatai.  Regarding  their  earliest  migrations,  v/e 
shall  endeavour  to  make  the  Puranas  contribute  ;  but  of  their 
invasions  in  more  modem  times  the  histories  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni, 
and  Timur  abundantly  acquaint  us. 

From  the  mountains  of  Jud  ^  to  the  shores  of  Makran,'  and 
along  the  Ganges,  the  Jat  is  widely  spread  ;  while  the  Takshak 
name  is  now  confined  to  inscriptions  or  old  writings. 

Inquiries  in  their  original  haunts,  and  among  tribes  now  under 
different  names,  might  doubtless  bring  to  light  their  original 
designation,  now  best  known  within  the  Indus  ;  whUe  the  Takshak 
or  Takiuk  may  probably  be  discovered  in  the  Tajik,  still  in  his 
ancient  haunts,  the  Transoxiana  and  Chorasinia  of  classic  authors  ; 
the  Mawaru-n-nahr  of  the  Persians  ;  the  Turan,  Turkistan,  or 
Tocharistan  of  native  geography  ;  the  abode  of  the  Tochari, 
Takshak,  or  Turushka  invaders  of  India,  described  in  the  Puranas 
and  existing  inscriptions. 

The  Getae  had  long  maintained  their  independence  when 
Tomyris  defended  their  liberty  against  Cyrus.  Driven  in  success- 
ive wars  across  the  Sutlej,  we  shall  elsewhere  show  them  preserv- 
ing their  ancient  habits,  as  desultory  cavaliers,  under  the  Jat 
leader  of  Lahore,  in  pastoral  communities  in  Bikaner^  the  Indian 

^  Utrar,  probably  the  Uttarakuru  of  ancient  geography  :  the  uttara 
(northern)  kuru  (race) ;   a  branch  of  Indu  stock. 

2  Jadu  ka  dang,  the  Joudes  of  Rennell's  map  ;  the  Yadu  hills  high  up  in 
the  Panjab,  where  a  colony  of  the  Yadu  race  dwelt  when  expelled  Saurashtra. 
[The  Salt  Range  in  the  Jhelum,  Shahpur,  and  Mian  wall  districts  of  the 
Panjab,  was  known  to  ancient  historians  as  Koh-i-Jud,  or  '  the  hiUs  of  Jud,' 
the  name  being  applied  by  the  Muhammadans  to  this  range  on  account  of 
its  resemblance  to  Mount  Al-Jiidi,  or  Ararat.  The  author  constantly  refers 
to  it,  and  suggests  that  the  name  was  connected  with  the  Indian  Yadu,  or 
Yadava  tribe  (IGI,  xxi._412;  Abu-1  Fazl,  Akbarndma,  i.  237;  Elliot- 
Dowson,  ii.  235,  v.  561  ;  Aln,  ii.  405  ;  ASR,  ii.  17  ;  Hughes,  Diet,  of  Islam, 
23).] 

^  The  Numri,  or  Lumri  (foxes)  of  Baluchistan,  are  Jats  [?].  These  are 
the  Noniardies  of  Rennell.  [They  are  beheved  to  be  aborigines  {IGI,  xvi. 
146;    Census  Report,  Baluchistan,  1911,  i.  17).] 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

desert  and  elsewhere,  though  they  have  lost  sight  of  their  early 
history.  The  transition  from  pastoral  to  agricultural  pursuits  is 
but  short,  and  the  descendant  of  the  nomadic  Getae  of  Transoxiana 
is  now  the  best  husbandman  on  the  plains  of  Hindustan^  [63]. 

The  invasion  of  these  Indu-Scytliic  tribes,  Getae,  Takshaks, 
Asii,  Chatti,  Rajpali,^  Huns,  Kamari,  introduced  the  worship  of 
Budha,  the  founder  of  the  Indu  or  Lunar  race. 

Herodotus  says  the  Getae  were  theists,^  and  held  the  tenets 
of  the  soul's  immortality  ;  so  with  the  Buddhists. 

Before,  however,  touching  on  points  of  religious  resemblance 
between  the  Asii,  Getae,  or  Jut  of  Scandinavia  (who  gave  his 
name  to  the  Cimbric  Chersonese)  and  the  Getae  of  Scythia  and 
India,  let  us  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  Asii  or  Aswa. 

The  Aswa. — To  the  Indu  race  of  Aswa  (the  descendants  of 
Dvimidha  and  Bajaswa),  spread  over  the  countries  on  both  sides 
the  Indus,  do  we  probably  owe  the  distinctive  appellation  of 
Asia.  Herodotus  *  says  the  Greeks  denominated  Asia  from  the 
wife  of  Prometheus  ;  while  others  deduce  it  from  a  grandson  of 
Manes,  indicating  the  Aswa  descendants  of  the  patriarch  Manu. 
Asa,*  Sakambhari,^  Mata,'  is  the  divinity  Hope,  '  mother-pro- 
tectress of  the  Sakha,'  or  races.  Every  Rajput  adores  Asapurna, 
'  the  fulfiller  of  desire  '  ;  or,  as  Sakambhari  Devi  (goddess  pro- 
tectress), she  is  invoked  previous  to  any  undertaking. 

The  Aswas  were  chiefly  of  the  Indu  race  ;  yet  a  branch  of  the 
Suryas  also  bore  this  designation.  It  appears  to  indicate  their 
celebrity  as  horsemen.*  All  of  them  worshipped  the  horse,  which 
they  sacrificed  to  the  sun.     This  grand  rite,  the  Asvamedha,  on 

^  [There  is  no  evidence,  beyond  resemblance  of  name,  to  connect  the 
Jats  with  the  Getae.]  ^  Royal  pastors  [?]. 

^  [iv.  59.]  The  sun  was  their  '  great  deity,'  though  they  had  in  Xamolxis 
a  lord  of  terror,  with  aiJSnity  to  Yama,  or  the  Hindu  Pluto.  "  The  chief 
divinity  of  the  Fenns,  a  Scythic  race,  was  Yammalu  "  (Pinkerton's  Hist, 
of  the  Goths,  vol.  ii.  p.  215). 

*  iv.  45  [Asia  probably  means  '  land  of  the  rising  sun.'] 
'  Asa,  '  hope.' 

®  Sakambhari :   from  sakham,  the  plural  of  sahha,  '  branch  or  race,'  and 
ambhar,  '  covering,  protecting.'     [The  word  means  '  herb  nourishing.'] 
'  IMata,  '  mother.' 

*  Asica  and  haya  are  synonymous  Sanskrit  terms  for  '  horse  '  ;  as]}  in 
Persian  ;  and  as  apphed  by  the  prophet  Ezelciel  [xxxviti.  6]  to  the  Getic 
invasion  of  Scythia,  a.c.  600  :  "  the  sons  of  Togarmah  riding  on  hojses  "  ; 
described  by  Diodorus,  the  period  the  same  as  the  Takshak  invasion  of  India. 


JATS  AND  GETAE  77 

the  festival  of  the  winter  solstice,  would  alone  go  far  to  exemplify 
their  common  Scythic  origin  with  the  Getic  Saka,  authorising  the 
inference  of  Pinkerton,  "  that  a  grand  Scythic  nation  extended 
from  the  Caspian  to  the  Ganges." 

The  Asvamedha.  —  The  Asvamedha  was  practised  on  the 
Ganges  and  Sarju  by  the  Solar  princes  [64],  twelve  hundred  years 
before  Christ,  as  by  the  Getae  in  the  time  of  Cyrus  ;  "  deeming  it 
right,"  says  Herodotus  [i.  216]  "  to  offer  the  swiftest  of  created 
to  the  chief  of  uncreated  beings  "  :  and  this  worship  and  sacrifice 
of  the  horse  has  been  handed  down  to  the  Rajput  of  the  present 
day.  A  description  of  this  grand  ceremony  shall  close  these 
analogies. 

The  Getic  Asii  carried  this  veneration  for  the  steed,  symbolic 
of  their  chief  deity  the  sun,  into  Scandinavia  :  equally  so  of  all 
the  early  German  tribes,  the  Su,  Suevi,  Chatti,  Sucimbri,  Getae, 
in  the  forests  of  Germany,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Elbe  and  Weser. 
The  milk-white  steed  was  supposed  to  be  the  organ  of  the  gods, 
from  whose  neighing  they  calculated  future  events  ;  notions 
possessed  also  by  the  Aswa,  sons  of  Budha  (Woden),  on  the 
Yamuna  and  Ganges,  when  the  rocks  of  Scandinavia  and  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic  were  yet  untrod  by  man.  It  was  this  omen 
which  gave  Darius  Hystaspes  ^  (hinsna, '  to  neigh,'  aspa, '  a  horse ') 
a  crown.  The  bard  Chand  makes  it  the  omen  of  death  to  his 
principal  heroes.  The  steed  of  the  Seandina%aan  god  of  battle 
was  kept  in  the  temple  of  Upsala,  and  always  "  found  foaming 
and  sweating  after  battle."  "  Money,"  says  Tacitus,  "  was  only 
acceptable  to  the  German  when  bearing  the  effigies  of  the  horse."  * 

In  the  Edda  we  are  informed  that  the  Getae,  or  Jats,  who 
entered  Scandinavia,  were  termed  Asi,  and  their  first  settlement 
As-gard.^ 

Pinkerton  rejects  the  authority  of  the  Edda  and  follows 
Torfaeus,  who  "  from  Icelandic  chronicles  and  genealogies  con- 
cludes Odin  to  have  come  into  Scandinavia  in  the  time  of  Darius 
Hystaspes,  five  hundred  years  before  Christ." 

^  [Hystaspes  is  from  old  Persian,  Vishtaspa,  '  possessor  of  horses.'  The 
author  derives  it  from  a  modern  Hindi  word  hinsna,  '  to  neigh,'  possibly 
from  recollection  of  the  story  in  Herodotus  iii.  85.] 

^  [He  possibly  refers  to  the  statement  (Gennania,  v.),  that  their  coins 
bore  the  impress  of  a  two-horse  chariot.] 

^  Asirgarb,  '  fortress  of  the  Asi  '  [IGI,  vi.  12]. 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

This  is  the  period  of  the  last  Buddha,  or  Mahavira,  whose  era 
is  four  hundred  and  seventy-seven  years  before  Vikrama,  or  five 
hundred  and  thirty-three  before  Christ. 

The  successor  of  Odin  in  Scandinavia  was  Gotama  ;  and 
Gautama  was  the  successor  of  the  last  Buddha,  Mahavira,^  who 
as  Gotama,  or  Gaudama,  is  still  adored  from  the  Straits  of  Malacca 
to  the  Caspian  Sea. 

"  Other  antiquaries,"  says  Pinkerton,  "  assert  another  Odin, 
who  was  put  as  the  supreme  deity  one  thousand  years  before 
Christ"  [65]. 

Mallet  admits  two  Odins,  but  Mr.  Pinkerton  wishes  he  had 
abided  Ijy  that  of  Torfaeus,  in  500  a.c. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  periods  of  both  the  Scandinavian 
Odins  should  assimilate  with  the  twenty-second  Buddha  [Jain 
Tirthakara],  Neminath,  and  twenty-fourth  and  last,  Mahavira  ; 
the  first  the  contemporary  of  Krishna,  about  1000  or  1100  years, 
the  last  533,  before  Christ.  The  Asii,  Getae,  etc.,  of  Europe 
worshipped  Mercury  as  founder  of  their  line,  as  did  the  Eastern 
Asi,  Takshaks,  and  Getae.  The  Chinese  and  Tatar  historians 
also  say  Buddha,  or  Fo,  appeared  1027  years  before  Christ.  "  The 
Yuchi,  established  in  Bactria  and  along  the  Jihun,  eventually 
bore  the  name  of  Jeta  or  Yetan,^  that  is  to  say,  Getae.  Their 
empire  subsisted  a  long  time  in  this  part  of  Asia,  and  extended 
even  into  India.  These  are  the  people  whom  the  Greeks  knew 
under  the  name  of  Indo-Scythes.  Their  manners  are  the  same 
as  those  of  the  Turks  .^  Revolutions  occurred  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  East,  whose  consequences  were  felt  afar."  * 

The  period  allowed  by  all  these  authorities  for  the  migration 
of  these  Scythic  hordes  into  Europe  is  also  that  for  their  entry 
into  India. 

The  sixth  century  is  that  calculated  for  the  Takshak  from 
Sheshnagdesa ;  and  it  is  on  this  event  and  reign  that  the  Puranas 
declare,  that  from  this  period  "  no  prince  of  pure  blood  would  be 

^  The  great  [maha)  warrior  [vir).  [Buddha  lived  567-487  b.c.  :  Mahavira, 
founder  of  Jainism,  died  about  527  B.C.] 

-  Yeutland  was  the  name  given  to  the  whole  Cimbric  Chersonese,  or 
Jutland  (Pinkerton,  On  the  Goths). 

*  Turk,  Turushka,  Takshak,  or  '  Taunak,  fils  de  Tnrc '  (Abulghazi, 
History  of  the  Tatars). 

*  Histoire  des  Huns,  vol.  i.  p.  42. 


PERSONAL  HL^BITS,  DRESS,  THEOGONY,  RITES     79 

found,  but  that  the  Sudra,  the  Turushka,  and  the  Yavan,  would 
prevail." 

All  these  Indu-Scythic  invaders  held  the  religion  of  Buddha  : 
and  hence  the  conformity  of  manners  and  mythology  between  the 
Scandinavian  or  German  tribes  and  the  Rajputs  increased  by 
comparing  their  martial  poetry. 

Similarity  of  religious  manners  affords  stronger  proofs  of 
original  identity  than  language.  Language  is  eternally  changing 
— so  are  manners  ;  but  an  exploded  custom  or  rite  traced  to  its 
source,  and  maintained  in  opposition  to  climate,  is  a  testimony 
not  to  be  rejected. 

Personal  Habits,  Dress. — When  Tacitus  informs  us  that  the 
first  act  of  a  German  on  rising  was  ablution,  it  will  be  conceded 
this  habit  was  not  acquired  in  [66]  the  cold  climate  of  Germany, 
but  must  have  been  of  eastern  ^  origin  ;  as  were  "  the  loose 
flowing  robe  ;  the  long  and  braided  hair,  tied  in  a  knot  at  the  top 
of  the  head  "  ;  with  many  other  customs,  personal  habits,  and 
superstitions  of  the  Scj'thic  Cimbri,  Juts,  Chatti,  Suevi,  analogous 
to  the  Getic  nations  of  the  same  name,  as  described  by  Herodotus, 
Justin,  and  Strabo,  and  which  yet  obtain  amongst  the  Rajput 
Sakhae  of  the  present  day. 

Let  us  contrast  what  history  affords  of  resemblance  in  religion 
or  manners.     First,  as  to  religion. 

Taeogony. — Tuisto  (IVIercury)  and  Ertha  (the  earth)  were  the 
chief  divinities  of  the  early  German  tribes.  Tuisto  ^  was  born  of 
the  Earth  (Ila)  and  Manus  (Manu).  Ke  is  often  confounded 
with  Odin,  or  Woden,  the  Budha  of  the  eastern  tribes,  though 
they  are  the  Mars  and  Mercury  of  these  nations. 

^  Though  Tacitus  calls  the  German  tribes  indigenous,  it  is  evident  he 
knew  their  claim  to  Asiatic  origin,  when  he  asks,  "  Who  would  leave  the 
softer  abodes  of  Asia  for  Germany,  where  Nature  yields  nothing  but 
deformity  ?  " 

2  In  an  inscription  of  the  Geta  or  Jat  Prince  of  SaUndrapur  (Salpur)  of  the 
fifth  century,  he  is  styled  "  of  the  race  of  Tusta  "  {qu.  Tuisto  ?).  It  is  in  that 
ancient  nail-headed  character  used  by  the  ancient  Buddhists  of  India,  and 
still  the  sacred  character  of  the  Tatar  Lamas  :  in  short,  the  Pali.  All  the 
ancient  inscriptions  I  possess  of  the  branches  of  the  Agnikulas,  as  the 
Chauhan,  Pramara,  Solanki,  and  Parihara,  are  in  this  cha,racter.  That  of 
the  Jat  prince  styles  liim  "  Jat  Kathida  "  {qu.  of  (da)  Cathay  ?).  From  Tuisto 
and  Woden  v.e  have  our  Tuesdaj^  and  Wednesday.  In  India,  Wednesday  is 
Budhwar  (Dies  Mercurii),  and  Tuesday  Mangalwar  (Dies  Martis),  the  Mardi 
of  the  French. 


80  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Religious  Rites. — The  Suiones  or  Suevi,  the  most  powerful 
Getie  nation  of  Scandinavia,  were  divided  into  many  tribes,  one 
of  whom,  the  Su  (Yueh-chi  or  Jat),  made  human  sacrifices  in  their 
consecrated  groves  ^  to  Ertha  (Ila),  whom  all  worshipped,  and 
whose  chariot  was  drawn  by  a  cow.^  The  Suevi  worshipped  Tsis 
(Isa,  Gauri,  the  Isis  and  Ceres  of  Rajasthan),  in  whose  rites  the 
figure  of  a  ship  is  introduced  ;  "  symbolic,"  observes  Tacitus, 
"  of  its  foreign  origin."  ^  The  festival  of  Isa,  or  Gauri,  wife  of 
Iswara,  at  Udaipur,  is  performed  on  the  lake,  and  appears  to  be 
exactly  that  of  Isis  and  Osiriain  Egypt,  as  described  by  Herodotus. 
On  this  occasion  Iswara  (Osiris),  who  is  secondary  to  his  wife,  has 
a  stalk  of  the  onion  in  blossom  in  his  hand  ;  a  root  detested  by 
the  Hindus  generally,  though  adored  by  the  Egyptians. 

Customs  of  War. — They  sung  hymns  in  praise  of  Hercules,  as 
well  as  Tuisto  or  Odin,  whose  banners  and  images  they  carried 
to  the  field  ;  and  fought  in  clans,  using  the  feram  or  javelin,  both 
in  close  and  distant  combat.  In  all  maintaining  [67]  the  resem- 
blance to  the  Harikula,  descendants  of  Budha,  and  the  Aswa, 
offspring  of  Bajaswa,  who  peopled  those  regions  west  of  the 
Indus,  and  whose  redundant  population  spread  both  east  and 
west. 

The  Suevi,  or  Suiones,  erected  the  celebrated  temple  of  Upsala, 
in  which  they  placed  the  statues  of  Thor,  Woden,  and  Freya,  the 
triple  divinity  of  the  Scandinavian  Asii,  the  Trimurti  of  the  Solar 
and  Lunar  races.  The  first  (Thor,  the  thunderer,  or  god  of  war) 
is  Hara,  or  Mahadeva,  the  destroyer  ;  the  second  (Woden)  is 
Budha,*  the  preserver ;  and  the  third  (Freya)  is  Uma,  the  creative 
power. 

The  grand  festival  to  Freya  was  in  spring,  when  all  nature 
revived  ;  then  boars  were  offered  to  her  by  the  Scandinavians, 
and  even  boars  of  paste  were  made  and  swallowed  by  the 
peasantry. 

As  Vasanti,  or  spring  personified,  the  consort  of  Hara  is 
worshipped  by  the  Rajput,  who  opens  the  season  with  a  grand 

^  Tacitus,  Germania,  xxxviii. 

^  The  gau,  or  cow,  symbolic  of  Prithivi,  the  earth.  On  this  see  note, 
p.  33. 

'  [Oermania,  ix.] 

*  Krishna  is  the  preserving  deity  of  the  Hindu  triad.  Krishna  is  of  the 
Tndu  line  of  Budha,  whom  he  worshipped  prior  to  his  own  deification. 


COMPARISON  OF  RAJPUTwS  WITH  N.  EUROPEANS     81 

hunt/  led  by  the  j^rince  and  his  vassal  chiefs,  when  they  chase, 
slay,  and  eat  the  boar.  Personal  danger  is  disregarded  on  this 
day,  as  want  of  success  is  ominous  that  the  Great  Mother  will 
refuse  all  petitions  throughout  the  year. 

Pinkerton,  quoting  Ptolemy  (who  was  fifty  years  after  Tacitus), 
says  there  were  six  nations  in  Yeutland  or  Jutland,  the  country 
of  the  Juts,  of  whom  were  the  Sablingii  (Suevi,^  or  Suiones),  the 
Chatti  and  Hermandri,  who  extended  to  the  estuary  of  the  Elbe 
and  Weser.  There  they  erected  the  pillar  Irmansul  to  "  the  god 
of  war,"  regarding  which  Sammes  ^  observes  :  "  some  will  have 
it  to  be  Mars  his  pillar,  others  Hermes  Saul,  or  the  pillar  of  Hermes 
or  Mercury  "  ;  and  he  naturally  asks,  "  how  did  the  Saxons  come 
to  be  acquainted  with  the  Greek  name  of  Mercury  ?  " 

Sacrificial  pillars  are  termed  Sula  in  Sanskrit  ;  which,  con- 
joined with  Hara,*  the  Indian  god  of  war,  would  be  Harsula.  The 
Rajput  warrior  invokes  Hara  with  his  trident  (trisula)  to  help 
him  in  battle,  while  his  battle-shout  is  '  mar  !  mar  !  '  The 
Cimbri,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  six  tribes  of  Yeutland, 
derive  their  name  from  their  fame  as  warriors  [68].^ 

Kumara  *  is  the  Rajput  god  of  war.  He  is  represented  with 
seven  heads  in  the  Hindu  mythology  :  the  Saxon  god  of  war  has 
six.'  The  six-headed  Mars  of  the  Cimbri  Chersonese,  to  whom 
was  raised  the  Ii'mansul  on  the  Weser,  was  worshipped  by  the 
Sakasenae,  the  Chatti,  the  Siebi  or  Suevi,  the  Jotae  or  Getae,  and 
the  Cimbri,  evincing  in  name,  as  in  religious  rites,  a  common 
origin  with  the  martial  warriors  of  Hindustan. 

Rajput  Religion. — ^The  religion  of  the  martial  Rajput,  and  the 
rites  of  Hara,  the  god  of  battle,  are  little  analogous  to  those  of 

1  '  Mahurat  ka  shikar.'  2  ^he  Siebi  of  Tacitus. 

^  Sammes's  Saxon  Ardiquities. 

*  Hara  is  the  Thor  of  Scandinavia ;  Hari  is  Budha,  Hermes,  or  Mercury. 

^  Mallet  derives  it  from  kempfer,  '  to  fight.'  [The  name  is  said  to  mean 
'comrades'  (Rhys,  Celtic  Britain,  116).  Irmansul  means  '  a  colossus,'  and 
has  no  connexion  with  Skr.  sfda  (CTrimm,  Teutonic  3Iythologi/,  i.  115).] 

**  Ku  is  a  mere  prefix,  meaning  '  evil ' ;  '  the  evil  striker  (Mar).'  Hence, 
probably,  the  Mars  of  Rome.  The  birth  of  Kumar,  the  general  of  the  army 
of  the  gods,  with  the  Hindus,  is  exactly  that  of  the  Grecians,  born  of  the 
goddess  Jahnavi  (Juno)  without  sexual  intercourse.  Kumara  is  always 
accompanied  by  the  peacock,  the  bird  of  Juno.  [Kumara  probably  means 
'  easily  dying  ' ;  there  is  no  connexion  with  Mars,  originally  a  deity  of 
vegetation.] 

'  For  a  drawing  of  the  Scandinavian  god  of  battle  see  Sammes. 

VOL    I  Q 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

the  meek  Hindus,  the  followers  of  the  pastoral  divinity,  the 
worshippers  of  kine,  and  feeders  on  fruits,  herbs,  and  water. 
The  Rajput  delights  in  blood  :  his  offerings  to  the  god  of  battle 
are  sanguinary,  blood  and  wine.  The  cup  (kharpara)  of  libation 
is  the  human  skull.  He  loves  them  because  they  are  emblematic 
of  the  deity  he  worships  ;  and  he  is  taught  to  believe  that  Hara 
loves  them,  who  in  war  is  represented  with  tb.e  skull  to  drink 
the  foeman's  blood,  and  in  peace  is  the  patron  of  wine  and  women. 
With  Parbati  on  his  knee,  his  eyes  rolling  from  the  juice  of  the 
phul  (ardent  spirits)  and  opium,  such  is  this  Bacchanalian  divinity 
of  war.  Is  this  Hinduism,  acquired  on  the  burning  plains  of 
India  ?  Is  it  not  rather  a  perfect  picture  of  the  manners  of  the 
Scandinavian  heroes  ? 

The  Rajput  slays  buffaloes,  hunts  and  eats  the  boar  and  deer, 
and  shoots  ducks  and  wild  fowl  (kukkut)  ;  he  worships  his  horse, 
his  sword,  and  the  sun,  and  attends  more  to  the  martial  song  of 
the  bard  than  to  the  litany  of  the  Brahman.  In  the  martial 
mythology  and  warlike  poetry  of  the  Scandinavians  a  wide  field 
exists  for  assimilation,  and  a  comparison  of  the  poetical  remains 
of  the  Asi  of  the  east  and  west  would  alone  suffice  to  suggest  a 
common  origin. 

Bards. — In  the  sacred  Bardai  of  the  Rajput  we  have  the  bard 
of  our  Saxon  ancestry  ;  those  reciters  of  warlike  poetry,  of  whom 
Tacitus  says,  "  with  their  barbarous  strains,  they  influence  their 
minds  in  the  day  of  battle  with  a  chorus  of  military  virtue." 

A  comparison,  in  so  extensive  a  field,  would  include  the  whole 
of  their  manners  and  religious  opinions,  and  must  be  reserved  for 
a  distinct  work.'-  The  Valkyrie  [69],  or  fatal  sisters  of  the  Suevi 
or  Siebi,  would  be  the  twin  sisters  of  the  Apsaras,  who  summon  the 
Rajput  warrior  from  the  field  of  battle,  and  bear  him  to  "  the 
mansion  of  the  sun,"  equally  the  object  of  attainment  with  the 
children  of  Odin  in  Scandinavia,  and  of  Budha  and  Surya  in  the 

^  I  have  in  contemplation  to  give  to  the  public  a  few  of  the  sixty-nine 
books  of  the  poems  of  Chand,  the  last  great  bard  of  the  last  Hindu  emperor 
of  India,  Prithwiraja.  They  are  entirely  heroic  :  each  book  a  relation  of 
one  of  the  exploits  of  this  prince,  the  first  warrior  of  his  time.  Thej'  will 
aid  a  comparison  between  the  Rajput  and  Scandinavian  bards,  and  sliow 
how  far  the  Proven9al  Troubadour,  the  Neustrienne  Trouveur,  and  Minne- 
singer of  Germany,  have  anytliing  in  common  witli  the  Rajput  Bardai. 
[For  Rajput  bards  on  horseback,  drunk  with  opium,  singing  songs  to  arouse 
warriors'  courage,  see  Manucci  ii.  4'M  f.l 


COMPARISON  OF  RAJPUTS  WITH  N.  EUROPEANS     83 

plains  of  Scythia  and  on  the  Ganges,  like  the  Elysium  ^  of  the 
Heliadae  of  Greece. 

In  the  day  of  battle  we  should  see  in  each  the  same  excitements 
to  glory  and  contempt  of  death,  and  the  dramatis  personae  of  the 
field,  both  celestial  and  terrestrial,  move  and  act  alike.  We  should 
see  Thor,  the  thunderer,  leading  the  Siebi,  and  Hara  (Siva)  the 
Indian  Jove,  his  own  worshippers  (Sivseva)  ;  in  which  Freya, 
or  Bhavani,  and  even  the  preserver  (Krislma)  himself,  not 
un frequently  mingle. 

War  Chariots. — The  war  chariot  is  peculiar  to  the  Indu-Seythic 
nations,  from  Dasaratha,^  and  the  heroes  of  the  Mahabharata,  to 
the  conquest  of  Hindustan  by  the  Muhammadans,  when  it  was 
laid  aside.  On  the  plains  of  Kurukshetra,  Krishna  became 
charioteer  to  his  friend  Arjun  ;  and  the  Getic  hordes  of  the 
Jaxartes,  when  they  aided  Xerxes  in  Greece,  and  Darius  on  the 
plains  of  Arbela,'  had  their  chief  strength  in  the  war  chariot. 

The  war  chariot  continued  to  be  used  later  in  the  south-west 
of  India  than  elsewhere,  and  the  Kathi,*  Khuman,  Kumari  of 

.  ^  'EXvaioi,  from  "HXtos,  '  the  sun  ' ;    also  a  title  of  Apollo,  the  Hari  of 
India.     [The  two  words,  from  the  accentuation,  can  have  no  connexion.] 

^  This  title  of  tlie  father  of  Rama  denotes  a  '  charioteer '  ['  having  ten 
chariots.'     Harsha  (a.d.  612-647)  discarded  the  chariot  (Smith,  EHI,  339)]. 

^  The  Indian  satrapy  of  Darius,  saj's  Herodotus  [iii.  94],  was  the  richest 
of  all  the  Persian  provinces,  and  yielded  six  himdred  talents  of  gold.  Arrian 
informs  us  that  his  Indo-Scythic  subjects,  in  his  wars  with  Alexander,  were 
the  elite  of  his  army.  Besides  the  Sakasenae,  we  find  tribes  in  name  similar 
to  those  included  in  the  thirty-six  Rajkula ;  especially  the  Dahae  (Dahya, 
one  of  the  thirty-six  races).  The  Indo-Scythic  contingent  was  two  hundred 
war  chariots  and  fifteen  elephants,  which  were  marshalled  with  the  Parthii 
on  the  right,  and  also  near  Darius's  person.  By  this  disposition  they  were 
opposed  to  the  cohort  commanded  by  Alexander  in  person.  The  chariots 
commenced  the  action,  and  prevented  a  manoeuvre  of  Alexander  to  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  Persians.  Of  their  horse,  also,  the  most  honourable 
mention  is  made  ;  they  penetrated  into  the  division  where  Parmenio  com- 
manded, to  whom  Alexander  was  compelled  to  send  reinforcements.  The 
Grecian  historian  dwells  with  pleasure  on  Indo-Scythic  valour  :  "  there 
were  no  equestrian  feats,  no  distant  fighting  with  darts,  but  each  fought  as 
if  victory  depended  on  his  sole  arm."  They  fought  the  Greeks  hand  to 
hand  [Arrian,  Anabasis,  iii.  15]. 

But  the  loss  of  empire  was  decreed  at  Arbela,  and  the  Sakae  and  Indo 
Scythae  had  the  honour  of  being  slaughtered  by  the  Yavans  of  Greece,  far 
from  their  native  land,  in  the  aid  of  the  king  of  kings. 

*  The  Kathi  are  celebrated  in  Alexander's  wars.  The  Kathiawar  Kathi 
can  be  traced  from  Multan  {the  ancient  abode)  {mtdasthcma, '  principal  place  ']. 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Saurashtra  have  to  recent  times  retained  their  Scythie  habits,  as 
their  monumental  stones  testify,  expressing  their  being  slain 
from  their  cars  [70]. 

Position  of  Women. — In  no  point  does  resemblance  more 
attach  between  the  ancient  German  and  Scandinavian  tribes,  and 
the  martial  Rajput  or  ancient  Getae,  than  in  their  delicacy  towards 
females, 

"  The  Germans,"  says  Tacitus  [Germania,  viii.],  "  deemed  the 
advice  of  a  woman  in  periods  of  exigence  oracular."  So  does  the 
Rajput,  as  the  bard  Chand  often  exemplifies  ;  and  hence  they 
append  to  her  name  the  epithet  Devi  (or  contracted  De),  '  god- 
like.' "  To  a  German  mind,"  says  Tacitus,  "  the  idea  of  a  woman 
led  into  captivity  is  insupportable  "  ;  and  to  prevent  this  the 
Rajput  raises  the  poignard  against  the  heart  which  beats  only  for 
him,  though  never  to  survive  the  dire  necessity.  It  is  then  they 
perform  the  sacrifice  '  johar,'  when  every  sakha  (branch)  is  cut 
off  :  and  hence  the  Rajput  glories  in  the  title  of  Sakha-band,  from 
having  performed  the  sakha  ;  an  awful  rite,  and  with  every 
appearance  of  being  the  sacaea  of  the  Scythie  Getae,  as  described 
by  Strabo.^ 

The  Dahya  (Dahae),  Johya  (the  latter  Hunnish),  and  Kathi  are  amongst 
the  thirty-six  races.  All  dwelt,  six  centuries  ago,  within  the  five  streams 
and  in  the  deserts  south  of  the  Ghara.  The  two  last  have  left  but  a  name. 
^  The  Sakae  had  invaded  the  inhabitants  on  the  borders  of  the  Pontic 
Sea :  whilst  engaged  in  dividing  the  booty,  the  Persian  generals  surprised 
them  at  night,  and  exterminated  them.  To  eternize  the  remembrance  of 
this  event,  the  Persians  heaped  up  the  earth  round  a  rock  in  the  plain  where 
the  battle  was  fought,  on  which  they  erected  two  temples,  one  to  the  goddess 
Anaitis,  the  other  to  the  divinities  Omanus  and  Anandate,  and  then  founded 
the  anmial  festival  called  Sacaea,  still  celebrated  by  the  possessors  of  Zela. 
Such  is  tlie  account  by  some  authors  of  the  origin  of  Sacaea.  According  to 
others  it  dates  from  the  reign  of  Cyrus  only.  This  prince,  they  say,  having 
carried  the  war  into  the  country  of  the  Sakae  (Massagetae  of  Herodotus) 
lost  a  battle.  Compelled  to  fall  back  on  his  magazines,  abundantly  stored 
with  provisions,  but  especially  wine,  and  having  halted  some  time  to  refresh 
his  army,  he  departed  before  the  enemy,  feigning  a  flight,  and  leaving  his 
camp  standing  full  of  provisions.  The  Sakae,  who  pursued,  reaching  the 
abandoned  camp  stored  with  provisions,  gave  themselves  up  to  debauch. 
Cyrus  returned  and  surprised  the  inebriated  and  senseless  barbarians. 
Some,  buried  in  profound  sleep,  were  easily  massacred  ;  others  occupied  in 
drinking  and  dancing,  without  defence,  fell  into  the  hands  of  armed  foes  : 
so  that  all  perished.  The  conqueror,  attributing  his  success  to  divine  pro- 
tection, consecrated  this  day  to  the  goddess  honoured  in  his  country,  and 
decreed  it  should  be  called  '  the  day  of  the  Sacaea.'     This  is  the  battle 


GAMING,  OMENS,  AUGURIES  85 

Gaming. — In  passion  for  play  at  games  of  cliance,  its  extent 
and  dire  consequences,  the  Rajput,  from  the  earliest  times,  has 
evinced  a  predilection,  and  will  stand  comparison  with  the  Scythian 
and  his  German  offspring.  The  German  staked  his  personal 
liberty,  became  a  slave,  and  was  sold  as  the  property  of  the 
winner.  To  this  vice  the  Pandavas  owed  the  loss  of  their 
sovereignty  and  personal  liberty,  involving  at  last  the  destruction 
of  all  the  Indu  [71]  races  ;  nor  has  the  passion  abated.  Religion 
even  consecrates  the  vice  ;  and  once  a  year,  on  '  the  Festival  of 
Lamps  '  (Diivali),  all  propitiate  the  goddess  of  wealth  and  fortune 
(Lakshmi)  by  offering  at  her  shrine. 

Destitute  of  mental  pursuits,  the  martial  Rajput  is  often 
slothful  or  attached  to  sensual  pleasures,  and  when  roused,  reck- 
less on  what  he  may  wreak  a  fit  of  energy.  Yet  when  order  and 
discipline  prevail  in  a  wealthy  chieftainship,  there  is  much  of  that 
patriarchal  mode  of  life,  with  its  amusements,  alike  suited  to  the 
Rajput,  the  Getae  of  the  Jihun,  or  Scandinavian. 

Omens,  Auguries. — Divination  by  lots,  auguries,  and  omens 
by  flights  of  birds,  as  practised  by  the  Getic  nations  described  by 
Herodotus,  and  amongst  the  Germans  by  Tacitus,  will  be  found 
amongst  the  Rajputs,  from  whose  works  ^  on  this  subject  might 
have  been  supplied  the  whole  of  the  Augurs  and  Aruspices, 
German  or  Roman. 

Love  of  Strong  Drink. — Love  of  liquor,  and  indulgence  in  it  to 
excess,  were  deep-rooted  in  the  Scandinavian  Asi  and  German 
tribes,  and  in  which  they  showed  their  Getic  origin  ;   nor  is  the 

related  by  Herodotus,  to  which  Strabo  alludes,  between  the  Persian  monarch 
and  Tomyris,  queen  of  the  Getae.  Amongst  the  Rajput  Sakha,  all  grand 
battles  attended  with  fatal  results  are  termed  sakha.  When  besieged, 
without  hope  of  relief,  in  the  last  effort  of  despair,  the  females  are  immolated, 
and  the  warriors,  decorated  in  saffron  robes,  rush  on  inevitable  destruction. 
This  is  to  perform  sakha.,  where  every  branch  (sakha)  is  cut  off.  Chitor  has 
to  boast  of  having  thrice  (and  a  half)  suffered  sakha.  Chitor  sakha  ka  pap, 
'  by  the  sin  of  the  sack  of  Chitor,'  the  most  solemn  adjuration  of  the  Guhilot 
Rajput.  If  such  the  origin  of  the  festival  from  the  slaughter  of  the  Sakae 
of  Tomyris,  it  will  be  allowed  to  strengthen  the  analogy  contended  for 
between  the  Sakae  east  and  west  the  Indus.  [For  the  Sacaea  festival  see 
Sir  J.  Frazer,  The  Golden  Bough,  The  Dying  God,  113  ff.  It  has  no  connexion 
with  the  Rajput  Sakha,  '  a  fight,'  which,  again,  is  a  different  word  from 
Sakha,  '  a  branch,  clan.'] 

^  I  presented  a  work  on  this  subject  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  as  well 
as  another  on  Palmistry,  etc. 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Rajput  behind  his  brethren  either  of  Scythia  or  Europe,  It  is 
the  free  use  of  this  and  similar  indulgences,  prohibited  by  ordin- 
ances which  govern  the  ordinary  Hindu,  that  first  induced  me  to 
believe  that  these  warlike  races  were  little  indebted  to  India. 

The  Rajput  welcomes  his  guest  with  the  munawzoar  ph/ala,  or 
'  cup  of  request,'  in  which  they  drown  ancient  enmities.  The 
heroes  of  Odin  never  relished  a  cup  of  mead  more  than  the  Rajput 
his  madhu  ;  -^  and  the  bards  of  Scandinavia  and  Rajwara  are  alike 
eloquent  in  the  praise  of  the  bowl,  on  which  the  Bardai  exhausts 
every  metaphor,  and  calls  it  ambrosial,  immortal.^  "  The  bard, 
as  he  sipped  the  ambrosia,  in  which  sparkled  the  ruby  seed  of  the 
pomegranate,  rehearsed  the  glory  of  the"  race  of  the  fearless.^ 
May  the  king  live  for  ever,  alike  bounteous  in  gifts  to  the  bard 
and  the  foe  !  "  Even  in  the  heaven  of  Indra,  the  Hindu  warrior's 
paradise,  akin  to  Valhalla  [72],  the  Rajput  has  his  cup,  which  is 
served  by  the  Apsaras,  the  twin  sister  of  the  celestial  Hebe  of 
Scania.  "  I  shall  quaff  full  goblets  amongst  the  gods,"  says  the 
dying  Getic  warrior  ;  *  "I  die  laughing  "  :  sentiments  which 
would  be  appreciated  by  a  Rajput. 

A  Rajput  inebriated  is  a  rare  sight  :  but  a  more  destructive 
and  recent  vice  has  usurped  much  of  the  honours  of  the  '  invita- 
tion cup,'  which  has  been  degi-aded  from  the  pure  '  flower '  * 
to  an  infusion  of  the  poppy,  destructive  of  every  quality.  Of  this 
pernicious  habit  we  may  use  the  words  which  the  historian  of 
Gerinan  manners  applies  to  the  tribes  of  the  Weser  and  Elbe,  in 
respect  to  their  love  of  strong  drink  :  "  Indulge  it,  and  you  need  not 
employ  the  terror  of  your  arms  ;  their  own  vices  will  subdue  them." 

^  Madlm  is  intoxicating  drink,  from  madhu,  '  a  bee,'  in  Sanskrit  [madhu, 
'  anything  sweet '].  It  is  well  known  that  mead  is  from  honey.  It  would 
be  curious  if  the  German  mead  was  from  the  Indian  madhu  (bee)  :  then 
both  cup  {kharpnra)  and  beverage  would  be  borrowed.  [3IadJm  does  not 
mean  '  a  bee  '  in  Sanskrit.] 

2  Anirila  (immortal),  from  the  initial  privative  and  mrit,  '  death.'  Thu.s 
the  Immurthal,  or  '  vale  of  immortality,'  at  Neufchatel,  is  as  good  Sanskrit 
as  German  [?]. 

=»  Abhai  Singh,  '  the  fearless  lion,'  prince  of  Marwar,  whose  bard  makes 
this  speech  at  the  festal  board,  when  the  prince  presented  with  his  own 
hand  the  cup  to  the  bard. 

*  Regner  Lodbrog,  in  his  dying  ode,  when  the  destinies  summon  him. 

*  Phul,  the  flower  of  the  mahua  tree,  the  favourite  drink  of  a  Rajput. 
Classically,  in  Sanskrit  it  is  madhuka,  of  the  class  Polyandria  Monogynia 
[Bassia  latifolia]  (see  As.  Ecs.  vol.  i.  p.  300). 


FUNERAL  CEREMONIES  87 

The  Clip  of  the  Scandinavian  worshippers  of  Thor,  the  god  of 
battle,  was  a  human  skull,  that  of  the  foe,  in  which  they  showed 
their  thirst  of  blood  ;  also  borrowed  from  the  chief  of  the  Hindu 
Triad,  Hara,  the  god  of  battle,  who  leads  his  heroes  in  the  '  red 
field  of  slaughter '  with  the  kkopra  ^  in  his  hand,  with  which  he 
gorges  on  the  blood  of  the  slain. 

Kara  is  the  patron  of  all  who  love  war  and  strong  drink,  and  is 
especially  the  object  of  the  Rajput  warrior's  devotion  :  accord- 
ingly blood  and  wine  form  the  chief  oblations  to  the  great  god  of 
the  Indus.  The  Gosains,^  the  peculiar  priests  of  Hara,  or  Bal, 
the  sun,  all  indulge  in  intoxicating  drugs,  herbs,  and  drinks. 
Seated  on  their  lion,  leopard,  or  deer  skins,  their  bodies  covered 
with  ashes,  their  hair  matted  and  braided,  with  iron  tongs  to 
5'ecd  the  penitential  fires,  their  savage  appearance  makes  them  fit 
organs  for  the  commands  of  the  blood  and  slaughter.  Contrary, 
lllcewise,  to  general  practice,  the  minister  of  Hara,  the  god  of  war, 
at  his  death  is  committed  to  the  earth,  and  a  circular  tumulus  is 
raised  over  him ;  and  with  some  classes  of  Gosains,  small  tumuli, 
whose  form  is  the  frustrum  of  a  cone,  with  lateral  steps,  the  apex 
crowned  with  a  cylindrical  stone  [73].' 

Funeral  Ceremonies. — In  the  last  rites  for  the  dead,  compari- 
son will  yield  proofs  of  original  similarity.  The  funeral  cere- 
monies of  Scandinavia  have  distinguished  the  national  eras,  and 
the  '  age  of  fire '  and  '  the  age  of  hills,'  *  designated  the  periods 
when  the  warrior  was  committed  to  mother  earth  or  consumed 
on  the  pyre. 

Odin  (Budha)  introduced  the  latter  custom,  and  the  raising 
of  tiunuli  over  the  ashes  when  the  body  was  burned  ;  as  also  the 
practice   of  the   wife   burning   with   her   deceased   lord.     These 

^  A  human  skull ;  in  the  dialects  pronounced  kho2Mr  :  Qu.  cup  in  Saxon  ? 
JCup,  in  Low  Latin  cuppa.] 

'  The  Kanphara  [or  Kanphata]  Jogis,  or  Gosains,  are  in  great  bodies, 
often  in  many  thousands,  and  are  sought  as  aUies,  especially  in  defensive 
warfare.  In  the  grand  miutary  festivals  at  Udaipur  to  the  god  of  war, 
the  scyiuitar,  symboho  of  Mars,  worshipped  by  the  Guhilots,  is  entrusted 
to  them  [I A,  vii.  47  ff. ;   BO,  ix.  part  i.  543]. 

'  An  entire  cemetery  of  these,  besides  many  detached,  I  have  seen,  and 
also  the  sacred  rites  to  their  manes  by  the  disciples  occupying  these  abodes 
of  austerity,  when  the  flowers  of  the  ak  [Calatropis  gigantea]  and  leaves  of 
evergreen  were  strewed  on  the  grave,  and  sprinkled  with  the  pure  element. 

*  Mallet's  Northern  Antiquities,  chap.  xii. 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

manners  were  carried  from  Sakadwipa,  or  Saka  Scythia,  "  where 
the  Geta,"  says  Herodotus  [v.  5],  "  was  consumed  on  the  pyre 
or  burned  ahve  with  her  lord."  With  the  Getae,  the  Siebi  or 
Suevi  of  Scandinavia,  if  the  deceased  had  more  than  one  wife, 
the  elder  claimed  the  privilege  of  burning.'^  Thus,  "  Nanna  was 
consumed  in  the  same  fire  with  the  body  of  her  husband,  Balder, 
one  of  Odin's  companions."  But  the  Scandinavians  were  anxious 
to  forget  this  naark  of  their  Asiatic  origin,  and  were  not  always 
willing  to  burn,  or  to  make  "  so  cruel  and  absurd  a  sacrifice  to  the 
manes  of  their  husbands,  the  idea  of  which  had  been  picked  up 
by  their  Scythian  ancestors,  when  they  inhabited  the  warmer 
climates  of  Asia,  where  they  had  their  first  abodes."  - 

"  The  Scythic  Geta,"  says  Herodotus  [iv.  71],  "  had  his  horse 
sacrificed  on  his  funeral  pyre  ;  and  the  Scandinavian  Geta  had 
his  horse  and  arms  buried  with  him,  as  they  could  not  approach 
Odin  on  foot."  ^  The  Rajput  warrior  is  carried  to  his  final  abode 
armed  at  all  points  as  when  alive,  his  shield  on  his  back  and  brand 
in  hand  ;  while  his  steed,  though  not  sacrificed,  is  often  presented 
to  the  deity,  and  becomes  a  perquisite  of  the  priest. 

Sati. — The  burning  of  the  dead  warrior,  and  female  immolation, 
or  Sati,  are  well-known  rites,  though  the  magnificent  cenotaphs 
raised  on  the  spot  of  sacrifice  are  little  known  or  visited  by  Euro- 
peans ;  than  which  there  are  no  better  memorials  of  the  rise  and 
decline  of  the  States  of  the  Rajput  heptarchy.  It  is  the  son  who 
raises  the  mausoleum  to  the  memory  of  his  father  ;  which  last 
token  of  respect,  or  laudable  vanity,  is  only  limited  by  the  means 
of  the  treasury.  It  is  commemorative  [74]  of  the  splendour  of 
his  reign  that  the  dome  of  his  father  sbould  eclipse  that  of  his 
predecessor.  In  every  principality  of  Rajwara,  the  remark  is 
applicable  to  chieftains  as  well  as  princes. 

Each  sacred  spot,  termed  '  the  place  of  great  sacrifice  '  (Maha- 
sati),  is  the  haunted  ground  of  legendary  lore.  Amongst  the 
altars  on  which  have  burned  the  beauteous  and  the  brave,  the 
harpy  *  takes  up  her  abode,  and  stalks  forth  to  devour  the  hearts 

1  Mallet  chap.  xii.  vol.  i.  p.  289.  ^  Edda. 

^  Mallet's  Northern  Antiquities,  chap.  xii.  The  Celtic  Franks  had  the 
same  custom.  The  arms  of  Chilperic,  and  the  bones  of  the  horse  on  which 
he  was  to  be  presented  to  Odin,  were  found  in  his  tomb. 

*  The  Dakini  (the  Jigarkhor  of  Sindh)  is  the  genuine  vampire  [Atn,  ii. 
338  f .].     Captain  Waugh,  after  a  long  chase  in  the  valley  of  Udaipur,  speared 


FUNERAL  RITES  89 

of  her  victims.  The  Rajput  never  enters  these  places  of  silence 
but  to  perform  stated  rites,  or  anniversary  offerings  of  flowers 
and  water  to  the  manes  (pitri-deva  ^)  of  his  ancestors. 

Odin  ^  guarded  his  warriors'  final  abode  from  rapine  by  means 
of  "  wandering  fires  which  played  around  the  tombs  "  ;  and  the 
tenth  chapter  of  the  Salic  law  is  on  punishments  against  "  carrying 
off  the  boards  or  carpets  of  the  tombs."  Fire  and  water  are 
interdicted  to  such  sacrilegious  spoliators. 

The  shihaba,^  or  wandering  meteoric  fires,  on  fields  of  battle 
and  in  the  places  of  '  great  sacrifice,'  produce  a  pleasing  yet 
melancholy  effect  ;  and  are  the  source  of  superstitious  dread  and 
reverence  to  the  Hindu,  having  their  origin  in  the  same  natural 
cause  as  the  '  wandering  fires  of  Odin  '  ;  the  phosphorescent 
salts  produced  from  animal  decomposition. 

The  Scandinavian  reared  the  tumulus  over  the  ashes  of  the 
dead  ;  so  did  the  Geta  of  the  Jaxartes,  and  the  officiating  priests 
of  Hara,  the  Hindu  god  of  battle. 

The  noble  picture  drawn  by  Gibbon  of  the  sepulture  of  the 
Getic  Alaric  is  paralleled  by  that  of  the  great  Jenghiz  Khan. 
When  the  lofty  mound  was  raised,  extensive  forests  were  planted, 
to  exclude  for  ever  the  footsteps  of  man  from  his  remains. 

The  tumulus,  the  cairn,  or  the  pillar,  still  rises  over  the  Rajput 
who  falls  in  [75]  battle  ;  and  throughout  Rajwara  these  sacri- 
ficial monuments  are  foimd,  where  are  seen  carved  in  relief  the 
warrior  on  his  steed,  armed  at  all  points  ;   his  faithful  wife  (Sati) 


a  hyena,  whose  abode  was  the  tombs,  and  well  known  as  the  steed  on  which 
the  witch  of  Ar  sallied  forth  at  night.  Evil  was  predicted  :  and  a  dangerous 
fall,  subsequently,  in  chasing  an  elk,  was  attributed  to  his  sacrilegious 
slaughter  of  the  weird  sister's  steed. 

^  Pitri-deva,  '  Father-lords.'  ^  MaUet  chap.  xii. 

^  At  Gwalior,  on  the  east  side  of  that  famed  fortress,  where  myriads  of 
M^arriors  have  fattened  the  soil,  these  phosphorescent  lights  often  present  a 
singular  appearance.  I  have,  with  friends  whose  eyes  this  will  meet,  marked 
the  procession  of  these  lambent  night-fires,  becoming  extinguished  at  one 
place  and  rising  at  another,  which,  aided  by  the  unequal  locale,  have  been 
frequently  mistaken  for  the  Mahratta  prince  returning  with  his  numerous 
torch-bearers  from  a  distant  day's  sport.  I  have  dared  as  bold  a  Rajput 
as  ever  lived  to  approach  them  ;  whose  sense  of  the  levity  of  my  desire  was 
strongly  depicted,  both  in  speech  and  mien  :  "  men  he  would  encounter, 
but  not  the  spirits  of  those  erst  slain  in  battle."  It  was  generally  about  the 
conclusion  of  the  rains  that  these  lights  were  observed,  v/hen  evaporation 
took  place  from  these  marshy  grounds  impregnated  with  salts. 


90  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

beside  him,  denoting  a  sacrifice,  and  the  sun  and  moon  on  either 
side,  emblematic  of  never-dying  fame.         • 

Cairns,  Pillars. — In  Saurashtra,  amidst  the  Kathi,  Khuman, 
Bala,  and  others  of  Scythic  descent,  the  Paliya,  or  Jujhar  (sacri- 
ficial pillars),  are  conspicuous  under  the  walls  of  every  town,  in 
lines,  irregular  groups,  and  circles.  On  each  is  displayed  in  rude 
relief  the  warrior,  with  the  manner  of  his  death,  lance  in  hand, 
generally  on  horseback,  though  sometimes  in  his  ear  ;  and  on  the 
coast  '  the  pirates  of  Budha '  ^  are  depicted  boarding  from  the 
shrouds.  Amidst  the  Khuman  of  Tatary  the  Jesuits  found  stone 
circles,  similar  to  those  met  with  wherever  the  Celtic  rites  pre- 
vailed ;  and  it  would  require  no  great  ingenuity  to  prove  an 
analogy,  if  not  a  common  origin,  between  Druidic  circles  and  the 
Indo-Scythic  monumental  remains.  The  trilithon,  or  seat,  in 
the  centre  of  the  judicial  circle,  is  formed  by  a  number  sacred  to 
Hara,  Bal,  or  the  sun,  whose  priest  expounds  the  law. 

Worship  o£  Arms.  The  Sword. — The  devotion  of  the  Rajput 
is  still  paid  to  his  arms,  as  to  his  horse.  He  swears  '  by  the  steel,' 
and  prostrates  himself  before  his  defensive  buckler,  his  lance,  his 
sword,  or  his  dagger. 

The  worship  of  the  sword  (asi)  may  divide  with  that  of  the 
horse  (aszva)  the  honour  of  giving  a  name  to  the  continent  of  Asia. 
It  prevailed  amongst  the  Scythic  Getae,  and  is  described  exactly 
by  Herodotus  [iv.  62].  To  Dacia  and  Thrace  it  was  carried  by 
Getic  colonies  from  the  Jaxartes,  and  fostered  by  these  lovers  of 
liberty  when  their  hordes  overran  Europe. 

The  worship  of  the  sword  in  the  Acropolis  of  Athens  by  the 
Getic  Attila,  with  all  the  accompaniments  of  pomp  and  place, 
forms  an  admirable  episode  in  the  history  of  the  decline  and  fall 
of  Rome  ;  and  had  Gibbon  witnessed  the  worship  of  the  double- 
edged  sword  (khanda)  by  the  prince  of  Mewar  and  all  his  chivalry, 
he  might  even  have  embellished  his  animated  account  of  the 
adoration  of  the  scymitar,  the  symbol  of  Mars. 

Initiation  to  Arms. — Initiation  to  military  fame  was  the  same 
with  the  [76]  German  as  with  the  Rajput,  when  the  youthful 
candidate  was  presented  with  the  lance,  or  buckled  with  the 
sword  ;    a  ceremony  which  will  be  noticed  when  their  feudal 

^  At  I)warka,  the  god  of  thieves  is  called  Budha  Trivikrama,  or  of  triple 
energy  :  the  Hermes  Triplex,  or  three-headed  Mercury  of  the  Egyptians. 
[No  such  cult  is  mentioned  in  the  account  of  Dwarka,  BG,  viii.  GOl.J 


INITIATION  TO  ARMS :  ASVAAIEDHA  91 

manners  are  described  ;  many  other  traits  of  character  will  then 
be  depicted.  It  would  be  easy  to  swell  the  list  of  analogous 
customs,  which  even  to  the  objects  of  dislike  in  food  ^  would 
furnish  comparison  between  the  ancient  Celt  and  Rajput  ;  but 
they  shall  close  with  the  detail  of  the  most  ancient  of  rites. 

Asvamedha,  the  Horse  Sacrifice.  —  There  are  some  things, 
animate  and  inanimate,  which  have  been  common  objects  of 
adoration  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth,  the  sun,  the  moon, 
and  all  the  host  of  heaven  ;  the  sword  ;  reptiles,  as  the  serpent  ; 
animals,  as  the  noblest,  the  horse.  This  last  was  not  worshipped 
as  an  abstract  object  of  devotion,  but  as  a  type  of  that  glorious 
orb  which  has  had  reverence  from  every  child  of  nature.  The 
plains  of  Tatary,  the  sands  of  Libya,  the  rocks  of  Persia,  the  valley 
of  the  Ganges,  and  the  wilds  of  Orinoco,  have  each  yielded  votaries 
alike  ardent  in  devotion  to  his  effulgence  : 

Of  this  great  world  both  eye  and  soul. 

His  symbolic  worship  and  offerings  varied  with  clime  and  habit ; 
and  while  the  altars  of  Bal  in  Asia,  of  Belenus  among  the  Celts 
of  Gaul  and  Britain,  smoked  with  human  sacrifices,  the  bull  ^ 
bled  to  Mithras  in  Babylon,  and  the  steed  was  the  victim  to  Surya 
on  the  Jaxartes  and  Ganges. 

The  father  of  history  says  that  the  great  Getae  of  Central  Asia 
deemed  it  right  to  offer  the  swiftest  of  created  to  the  swiftest  of 
non-created  beings.  It  is  fair  to  infer  that  the  sun's  festival  with 
the  Getae  and  Aswa  nations  of  the  Jaxartes,  as  with  those  of 
Scandinavia,  was  the  winter  solstice,  the  Sankrant  of  the  Rajput 

^  Caesar  informs  us  that  the  Celts  of  Britain  would  not  eat  the  hare, 
goose,  or  domestic  fowl.  The  Rajput  will  hunt  the  first,  but  neither  eats  it, 
nor  the  goose,  sacred  to  the  god  of  battle  (Hara).  The  Rajput  of  Mewar 
eats  the  jungle  fowl,  but  rarely  the  domestic. 

'^  As  he  did  also  to  Balnath  (the  god  Bal)  in  the  ancient  times  of  India. 
The  baldan,  or  gift  of  the  bull  to  the  sun,  is  well  recorded.  [Balddn,  baliddna 
does  not  mean  the  offering  of  a  bull :  it  is  the  daily  presentation  of  a  portion 
of  the  meat  to  Earth  and  other  deities.]  There  are  numerous  temples  in 
Rajasthan  of  Baahm  [?] ;  and  Balpur  (Mahadeo)  has  several  in  vSaurashtra. 
All  represent  the  sun — 

Peor  his  other  name,  when  he  enticed 
Israel  in  Sittim,  on  their  march  from  Nile. 

Paradise  Lost,  book  i.  412  f.  [77], 

The  temple  of  Solomon  was  to  Bal,  and  all  the  idolaters  of  that  day  seem- 
to  have  held  to  the  grosser  tenets  of  Hinduism. 


92  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

and  Hindu  in  general.  Hi,  Haija,  Hyimr,  Aswa  denote  the 
steed  in  Sanskrit  and  its  dialects.  In  Gothic,  hyrsa  ;  Teutonic, 
hors  ;  Saxon,  horse.  The  grand  festival  of  the  German  tribes  of 
the  Baltic  was  the  Hiul,  or  Hid  (already  commented  on),  the 
Asvamedha  ^  of  the  children  of  Surya,  on  the  Ganges. 

The  Asvamedha  Ceremonies. — The  ceremonies  of  the  Asvamediia 
are  too  expensive,  and  attended  with  too  great  risk,  to  be  attempted 
by  modern  princes.  Of  its  fatal  results  we  have  many  historical 
records,  from  the  first  dawn  of  Indian  history  to  the  last  of  its 
princes,  Prithwiraja.  The  Ramayana,  the  Mahabharata,  and  the 
poems  of  Chand  all  illustrate  this  imposing  rite  and  its  effects.^ 

The  Ramayana  affords  a  magnificent  picture  of  the  Asvamedha. 
Dasaratha,  monarch  of  Ayodhya,  father  of  Rama,  is  represented 
as  commanding  the  rite :  "  Let  the  sacrifice  be  prepared,  and  the 
horse  '  liberated  from  the  north  bank  of  the  Sarju  !  "  *  A  year 
being  ended,  and  the  horse  having  returned  from  his  wanderings,* 
the  sacrificial  ground  was  prepared  on  the  spot  of  liberation. 

^  In  Aswa  {medha  signifies  '  to  kill ')  we  have  the  derivation  of  the  ancient 
races,  sons  of  Bajaswa,  who  peopled  the  countries  on  both  sides  the  Indus, 
and  the  probable  etymon  of  Asia  [?].  The  Assakenoi,  the  Ariaspai  of 
Alexander's  historians,  and  Aspasianae,  to  whom  Arsaces  fled  from  Seleucus, 
and  whom  Strabo  terms  a  Getic  race,  have  the  same  origin  ;  hence  Asigarh, 
'  the  fortress  of  the  Asi '  (erroneously  termed  Hansi),  and  Asgard  were  the 
first  settlements  of  the  Getic  Asi  in  Scandinavia.  Alexander  received  the 
homage  of  all  these  Getic  races  at  '  the  mother  of  cities,'  Balkh,  '  seat  of 
Cathaian  Khan  '  (the  Jat  Kathida  of  my  inscription),  according  to  Marco 
Polo,  from  whom  Milton  took  his  geography. 

^  The  last  was  undertaken  by  the  celebrated  Sawai  Jai  Singh  of  Amber  ; 
but  the  milk-white  steed  of  the  sun,  I  believe,  was  not  turned  out,  or 
assuredly  the  Ratliors  would  liave  accepted  the  challenge. 

^  A  milk-white  steed  is  selected  with  peculiar  marks.  On  hberation, 
properly  guarded,  he  wanders  where  he  listeth.  It  is  a  virtual  challenge. 
Arjuna  guarded  the  steed  liberated  by  Yudhishthira  ;  but  that  sent  round 
by  Parikshita,  his  grandson,  "  was  seized  by  the  Takshak  of  the  north." 
The  same  fate  occurred  to  Sagara,  father  of  Dasaratha,  which  involved  the 
loss  of  his  kingdom. 

*  The  Sarju,  or  Gandak,  from  the  Kumaun  mountains,  passes  through 
Kosalades,  the  dominion  of  Dasaratha. 

*  The  liorse's  return  after  a  year  evidently  indicates  an  astronomical 
revolution,  or  the  sun's  return  to  the  same  point  in  the  echptic.  Tliis 
return  from  his  southern  dechnation  must  have  been  always  a  day  of  rejoic- 
ing to  the  Scythic  and  Scandinavian  nations,  who  could  not,  says  Gibbon, 
fancy  a  worse  hell  than  a  large  abode  open  to  the  cold  wind  of  the  north. 
To  the  south  they  looked  for  the  deity  ;  and  hence,  with  the  Rajputs,  a 
religious  law  forbids  their  doors  being  to  the  north. 


THE  ASVAMEDHiV  93 

Invitations  were  sent  to  all  surrounding  monarchs  to  repair 
to  Ayodhya  :  King  Kaikeya,^  the  king  of  Kasi,^  Lomapada  of 
Angadesa,^  Kosala  of  Magadhadesa,*  with  the  kings  of  Sindhu/ 
Sauvira,®  and  Saurashtra  [78].' 

WTien  the  sacrificial  pillars  are  erected,  the  rites  commence. 
This  portion  of  the  ceremony,  termed  Yupochchraya,  is  tlius 
minutely  detailed  :  "  There  were  twenty-one  yupas,  or  pillars,* 
of  octagonal  shape,  each  twenty-one  feet  in  height  and  four  feet 
in  diameter,  the  capitals  bearing  the  figure  of  a  man,  an  elephant, 
or  a  bull.  They  were  of  the  various  sorts  of  wood  appropriated 
to  holy  rites,  overlaid  with  plates  of  gold  and  ornamented  cloth, 
and  adorned  with  festoons  of  flowers.  Wliile  the  yupas  were 
erecting,  the  Adhvaryu,  receiving  his  instructions  from  the  Hotri. 
or  sacrificing  priest,  recited  aloud  the  incantations. 

^  Kaike3^a  is  supposed  by  the  translator,  Dr.  Carey,  to  be  a  king  of  Persia, 
the  Kaivansa  preceding  Dariu'i.  The  epithet  Kai  not  unfrequently  occurs 
in  Hindu  traditional  couplets.-  One,  which  I  remember,  is  connected  with 
the  ancient  ruins  of  Abhaner  in  Jaipur,  recording  the  marriage  of  one  of  its 
princes  with  a  daughter  of  Kaikamb. 

Tu  beti  Kaikamb  /./,  7iam  Panyiala  ho,  etc.  '  Thou  art  the  daughter  of 
Kaikamb :  thy  name  Fairy  Garland.'  Kai  was  the  epithet  of  one  of  the 
Persian  dynasties.  Qu.  Kam-bakhsh,  the  Cambj^ses  of  the  Greeks  ?  [Cam- 
byses,  Kabuziya  or  Kambuzlya,  possibly  '  a  bard  '  (Rawlinson,  Herodotvs, 
iii.  543).]  ^  Benares. 

3  Tibet  or  Ava  [N.  Bengal].  *  Bihar.  s  Sind  valley. 

^  Unknown  to  me  [W.  and  S.  Panjab  and  its  vicinity]. 

'  Peninsula  of  Kathiawar. 

*  I  have  seen  several  of  these  sacrificial  pillars  of  stone  of  very  ancient 
date.  Many  years  ago,  when  all  the  Rajput  States  were  suffering  from  the 
thraldom  of  the  Mahrattas,  a  most  worthy  and  wealthy  banker  of  Surat, 
known  by  the  family  name  of  Trivedi,  who  felt  acutely  for  the  woes  inflicted 
by  incessant  predatory  foes  on  the  sons  of  Rama  and  Krishna,  told  me, 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  the  evils  which  afflicted  Jaipur  were  to  be  attri- 
buted to  the  sacrilege  of  the  prince,  Jagat  Singh,  who  had  dared  to  abstract 
the  gold  plates  of  the  sacrificial  pillars,  and  send  them  to  his  treasure' : 
worse  than  Rehoboam,  who,  when  he  took  awaj'  from  the  temple  "  the 
shields  of  gold  Solomon  had  made,"  had  the  grace  to  substitute  others  of 
brass.  Whether,  when  turned  into  currencj',  it  went  as  a  war  contribution 
to  the  Mahrattas,  or  was  applied  to  the  less  worthj'  use  of  his  concubine 
queen,  '  the  essence  of  camphor/  it  was  of  a  piece  with  the  rest  of  this 
prince's  unwise  conduct.  Jai  Singh,  who  erected  the  pillars,  did  honour  to  his 
countrj',  of  which  he  was  a  second  founder,  and  under  whom  it  attained  the 
height  from  which  it  has  now  fallen.  [Some  sacrificial  pillars  (yiipa)  were 
recently  found  in  the  bed  of  the  .Jumna  near  I'lathura,  with  inscriptions 
dated  in  the  twenty -fourth  j'car  of  Kanishka's  reign,  about  a.d.  102.] 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

"  The  sacrificial  pits  were  in  triple  rows,  eighteen  in  number, 
and  arranged  in  the  form  of  the  eagle.  Here  were  placed 
the  victims  for  immolation  ;  birds,  aquatic  animals,  and  the 
horse. 

"  Thrice  was  the  steed  of  King  Dasaratha  led  round  the  sacred 
fire  by  Kosala,  and  as  the  priests  pronounced  the  incantations  he 
was  immolated  ^  amidst  shouts  of  joy. 

"  The  king  and  queen,  placed  by  the  high  priest  near  the  horse, 
sat  up  all  night  watching  the  birds  ;  and  the  officiating  priest, 
having  taken  out  the  hearts,  dressed  them  agreeably  to  the  holy 
books.  The  sovereign  of  men  smelled  the  smoke  of  the  offered 
hearts,  acknowledging  his  transgressions  in  the  order  in  which 
they  were  committed. 

"  The  sixteen  sacrificing  priests  then  placed  (as  commanded  in 
the  ordinances)  on  the  fire  the  parts  of  the  horse.  The  oblation 
of  all  the  animals  was  made  on  wood,  except  that  of  the  horse, 
which  was  on  cane. 

"  The  rite  concluded  with  gifts  of  land  to  the  sacrificing  priests 
and  augurs  ;  but  the  holy  men  preferring  gold,  ten  millions  of 
jambunada  ^  were  bestowed  on  them"  [79]. 

Such  is  the  circumstantial  account  of  the  Asvamedha,  the 
most  imposing  and  the  earliest  heathen  rite  on  record.  It  were 
superfluous  to  point  out  the  analogy  between  it  and  similar  rites 
of  various  nations,  from  the  chosen  people  to  the  Auspex  of 
Rome  and  the  confessional  rite  of  the  Catholic  church. 

The  Sankrant,^  or  Sivaratri  (night  of  Siva),  is  the  winter 
solstice.     On  it  the  horse  bled  to  the  sun,  or  Balnath. 

^  On  the  Nauroz,  or  festival  of  the  new  year,  the  Great  Mogul  slays  a 
camel  with  his  own  hand,  which  is  distributed,  and  eaten  by  the  court 
favourites.  [A  camel  is  sacrificed  at  the  Tdu-1-azha  festival  (Hughes,  Did. 
Islam,  192  ff.).] 

2  This  was  native  gold,  of  a  pecuharly  dark  and  brilliant  hue,  which  was 
compared  to  the  fruit  jambu  (not  unlike  a  damson).  Everything  forms  an 
allegory  with  the  Hindus  ;  and  the  production  of  this  metal  is  appropriated 
to  the  period  of  gestation  of  Jahnavi,  the  river-goddess  (Ganges),  when  by 
Agni,  or  fire,  she  produced  Kumara,  the  god  of  war,  the  commander  of  the 
army  of  the  gods.  This  was  when  she  left  the  place  of  her  birth,  the  Hima- 
laya mountain  (the  great  storehouse  of  metallic  substances),  whose  daughter 
she  is  :  and  doubtless  this  is  in  allusion  to  some  very  remote  period,  when, 
bursting  her  rock-bound  bed,  Ganga  exposed  from  '  her  side  '  veins  of  this 
precious  metal. 

^  Little  bags  of  brocade,  filled  with  seeds  of  the  sesamum  or  cakes  of  the 


SACRED  TREES  95 

The  Scandinavians  termed  the  longest  night  the  '  mother 
night,'  ^  on  which  they  held  that  the  world  was  born.  Hence 
the  Beltane,  the  fires  of  Bal  or  Belenus  ;  the  Hiul  of  northern 
nations,  the  sacrificial  fires  on  the  Asvamedha,  or  worship  of  the 
sun,  by  the  Suryas  on  the  Ganges,  and  the  Swians  (I'VO  find 
Sauromatae  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  altars  of  the  Phoenician  Ileliopohs,  Balbec  ^  or  Tadmor,* 
were  sacred  to  the  same  divmity  as  on  the  banks  of  Sarju,  or 
Balpiir,  in  Saurashtra,  where  "  the  horses  of  the  sun  ascended 
from  his  fountain  {Surya-kund),'"  to  carry  its  princes  to  conquest. 

From  Syria  came  the  instructors  of  the  Celtic  Druids,  v,^ho 
made  human  sacrifices,  and  set  up  the  pillar  of  Belenus  on  the 
hills  of  Cambria  and  Caledonia. 

Wlien  "  Judah  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  built 
them  high  places,  and  images,  and  groves,  on  every  high  hill  and 
under  every  tree,"  the  object  was  Bal,  and  the  pillar  (the  lingam) 
was  his  symbol.  It  was  on  his  altar  they  burned  incense,  and 
"  sacrificed  unto  the  calf  on  the  fifteenth  *  day  of  the  month  " 
(the  sacred  Amavas  of  the  Hindus).  The  calf  of  Israel  is  the 
bull  (nandi)  of  Balkesar  or  Iswara  ;  the  Apis  of  the  Egyptian 
Osiris  [80]. 

Sacred  Trees. — The  ash  was  sacred  to  the  sun-god  in  the  west. 
The  asvattha  (or  pipal)  ^  is  the  '  chief  of  trees,'  say  the  books 

same,  are  distributed  by  the  chiefs  to  friends  on  this  occasion.  While  the 
author  writes,  he  has  before  him  two  of  these,  sent  to  hini  by  the  young 
Mahratta  prince,  Holkar. 

^  Sivaratri  would  be  '  father  night  '  [?].  Siva-Iswara  is  the  '  universal 
father.' 

^  Ferishta,  the  compiler  of  the  imperial  history  of  India,  gives  us  a 
Persian  or  Arabic  derivation  of  this,  from  Bal,  '  the  sun,'  and  bee,  '  an  idol." 
[This  has  not  been  traced  in  Dow  or  Briggs.] 

^  Corrupted  ^o  Palmyra,  the  etymon  of  which,  I  beUeve,  has  never  been 
given,  which  is  a  version  of  Tadiiior.  In  Sanskrit,  tal,  or  tar,  is  the  '  date- 
tree  ' ;  mor  signifies  '  chief.'  We  have  more  than  one  '  city  of  palms  ' 
{Talpur)  in  India ;  and  the  tribe  ruhng  in  Haidarabad,  on  the  Indus,  is 
called  Talpuri,  from  the  place  whence  they  originated.  [Tadmor  is  Semitic, 
probably  meaning  '  abounding  in  palms.'  The  suggested  derivation  is 
impossible.] 

*  1  Kings  xiv.  23. 

*  Ficus  religiosa.  It  presents  a  perfect  resemblance  to  the  popul  (poplar) 
of  Germany  and  Italy,  a  species  of  which  is  the  aspen.  [They  belong  to 
different  orders.]  So  similar  is  it,  that  the  specimen  of  the  pipal  from 
Carohna  is  called,  in  the  Isola  Bella  of  the  Lago  Maggiore,  Populufi  angulata  ; 


96  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

sacred  to  Bal  in  the  East :  and  death,  or  loss  of  Hmb,  is  incurred 
by  the  sacrilegious  mutilator  of  his  consecrated  groves/  where  a 
pillar  is  raised  bearing  the  inhibitory  edict. 

We  shall  here  conclude  the  analogy  between  the  Indo-Scythic 
Rajput  races  and  those  of  early  Europe.  Much  more  might  be 
adduced  ;  the  old  Runic  characters  of  Scandinavia,  the  Celtic, 
and  the  Osci  or  Etruscan,  might,  by  comparison  with  those  found 
in  the  cave  temples  and  rocks  in  Rajasthan  and  Saurashtra,  yield 
yet  more  important  evidence  of  original  similarity  ;   and  the  very 

and  another,  in  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  at  Toulon,  is  termed  the  Ficuspopuli- 
folia,  oufiguier  dfeuilles  de  peuplier.  The  aspen,  or  ash,  held  sacred  by  the 
Celtic  priests,  is  said  to  be  the  mountain-ash.  '  The  calf  of  Bal '  is  generally 
placed  under  the  pipal ;  and  Hindu  tradition  sanctifies  a  never-dying  stem, 
which  marks  the  spot  where  the  Hindu  ApoUo,  Ilari  (the  sun),  was  slain  by 
the  savage  Bhil  on  the  shores  of  Saurashtra.  [This  is  known  as  the  Prachi 
Pipal,  and  death  rites  are  performed  close  to  it  (BQ,  viii.  271,  note  2).] 

^  The  rehgious  feelings  of  the  Rajput,  though  outraged  for  centuries  by 
Moguls  and  mercenary  Pathans,  wiU  not  permit  him  to  see  the  axe  appUed 
to  the  noble  pipal  or  umbrageous  bar  (Ficus  indica),  without  execrating  the 
destroyer.  Unhappy  the  constitution  of  mind  which  knowingly  wounds 
rehgious  prejudices  of  such  ancient  date  !  Yet  is  it  thus  with  our  country- 
men in  the  East,  who  treat  all  foreign  prejudices  with  contempt,  shoot  the 
bird  sacred  to  the  Indian  Mars,  slay  the  calves  of  Bal,  and  fell  the  noble 
pipal  before  the  eyes  of  the  native  without  remorse.  He  is  unphilosophic 
and  unwise  who  treats  such  prejudices  with  contumely :  prejudices  beyond 
the  reach  of  reason.  He  is  uncharitable  who  does  not  respect  them  ;  im- 
politic, who  does  not  use  every  means  to  prevent  such  offence  by  ignorance 
or  levity.  It  is  an  abuse  of  our  strength,  and  an  ungenerous  advantage 
over  their  weakness.  Let  us  recollect  who  are  the  guardians  of  these  fanes 
of  Bal,  his  pipal,  and  sacred  bird  (the  peacock)  ;  the  children  of  Surya  and 
Chandra,  and  the  descendants  of  the  sages  of  yore,  they  who  fill  the  ranks 
of  our  array,  and  are  attentive,  though  silent,  observers  of  all  our  actions  : 
the  most  attached,  the  most  faithful,  and  the  most  obedient  of  mankind  ! 
Let  us  maintain  them  in  duty,  obedience,  and  attachment,  by  respecting 
their  prejudices  and  conciliating  their  pride.  On  the  fulfilment  of  this 
depends  the  maintenance  of  our  sovereignty  in  India  :  but  the  last  fifteen 
years  have  assuredly  not  increased  their  devotion  to  us.  Let  the  question 
be  put  to  the  unprejudiced,  whether  their  welfare  has  advanced  in  pro- 
portion to  the  dominion  they  have  conquered  for  us,  or  if  it  has  not  been  in 
the  inverse  ratio  of  this  prosperity  ?  Have  not  their  allowances  and  com- 
forts decreased  ?  Does  the  same  relative  standard  between  the  currency 
and  conveniences  of  life  exist  as  twenty  years  ago  ?  Has  not  the  first 
depreciated  twenty-five  per  cent,  as  baM-batta  stations  and  duties  have 
increased  ?  For  the  good  of  ruler  and  servant,  let  these  be  rectified.  With 
the  utmost  solemnity,  I  aver,  1  have  but  the  welfare  of  all  at  heart  in  these 
observations.     I   loved   the  service,   I   loved   the  native  soldier.     I   have 


THE  THIRTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES  97 

name  of  German  (from  wer,  bellum)  ^  might  be  found  to  be  deri\'ed 
from  the  feud  (vair)  and  foe-man  (vairi)  of  the  Rajput. 

If  these  coincidences  are  merely  accidental,  then  has  too  much 
been  already  said  ;  if  not,  authorities  are  here  recorded,  and 
hypotheses  founded,  for  the  assistance  of  others  [81  J. 


CHAPTER  7 

Having  discussed  the  ancient  genealogies  of  the  martial  races 
of  Rajasthan,  as  well  as  the  chief  points  in  their  character  and 
religion  analogous  to  those  of  early  Europe,  we  proceed  to  the 
catalogue  of  the  Chhattis  Rajkula,  or  '  thirty-six  royal  races.'  ^ 

The  table  before  the  reader  presents,  at  one  view,  the  authori- 
ties on  which  this  list  is  given  :  they  are  as  good  as  al)undant. 
The  first  is  from  a  detached  leaf  of  an  ancient  work,  obtained 
from  a  Yati  of  a  Jain  temple  at  the  old  city  of  Nado!,  in  Marwar. 
The  second  is  from  the  poems  of  Chand,^  the  bard  of  the  last 
Hmdu  kino-   of  Dellii.     The   third   is   from  an   estimable   work 


proved  what  he  will  do,  where  devoted,  when,  in  1817,  thirty-two  firelocks 
of  my  guard  attacked,  defeated,  and  dispersed  a  camp  of  fifteen  hundred 
men,  sla3ring  thrice  their  numbers.*  Having  quitted  the  scene  for  ever,  I 
submit  my  opinion  dispassionately  for  the  welfare  of  the  one,  and  with  it 
the  stability  or  reverse  of  the  other. 

^  D'Anville's  derivation  of  Gersnan,  from  wer  (bellum)  and  nMnus. 
[Possiblv  0.  Irish,  gair,  '  neighbour,'  or  (jairm,  '  battle-cry  '  {New  Eng.  Diet. 
s.v.).] 

^  [This  catalogue  is  now  of  historical  or  traditional,  rather  than  of 
ethnographical  value.  It  includes  some  which  are  admittedly  extinct : 
others  wiiich  are  proved  to  be  derived  from  Gurjara  and  other  foreign  tribes, 
while  it  omits  many  clans  which  are  most  influential  at  the  present  day, 
and  some  of  those  included  in  the  list  are  now  represented  by  scattered 
groups  outside  Rajputana.] 

^  Of  his  works  I  possess  the  most  complete  copy  existing. 


*  What  says  the  Thermopylae  of  India,  Corygaum  ?  Five  hundred  fire- 
locks against  twenty  thousand  men  !  Do  the  annals  of  Napoleon  record  a 
more  brilUant  exploit  ?  Has  a  column  been  reared  to  the  manes  of  the 
brave,  European  and  native,  of  this  memorable  day,  to  excite  to  future 
achievement  ?  What  order  decks  the  breast  of  the  gaUant  Fitzgerald,  for 
the  exploit  on  the  field  of  Nagpur  ?  At  another  time  and  place  his  word.s, 
"  At  my  peril  be  it !  Charge  !  "  would  have  crowned  his  crest !  These 
things  call  for  remedy  !  [Koregaon  in  Poona  District,  where  Captain 
Staunton  defeated  a  large  force  of  Mahrattas  on  January  1,  1818  (Wilson- 
Mill,  Hist,  of  India,  ii.  (1846),  303  ff.).] 

VOL.    I  H 


98  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

contemporary  with  Chand's,  the  Kumarjjal  Charitra'  or  "  History 
of  the  Monarchy  of  Anhilwara  Patan."  The  fourth  list  is  from 
the  Khichi  bard.^     The  fifth,  from  a  bard  of  Saurashtra. 

From  every  one  of  the  bardic  profession,  from  all  the  collectors 
and  collections  of  Rajasthan,  lists  have  been  received,  from  which 
the  catalogue  No.  6  has  been  formed,  admitted  by  the  genealogists 
to  be  more  perfect  than  any  existing  document.  From  it,  there- 
fore, in  succession,  each  race  shall  have  its  history  rapidly 
sketched  ;  though,  as  a  text,  a  single  name  is  sufficient  to  fill 
many  pages. 

The  first  list  is  headed  by  an  invocation  to  Mata  Sakambhari 
Devi,  or  mother-goddess,  protectress  of  the  races  (sakha)  [the 
mother  of  vegetation]. 

Each  race  (sakha)  has  its  Gotracharya,^  a  genealogical  creed, 
describing  [82]  the  essential  peculiarities,  religious  tenets,  and 
pristine  locale  of  the  clan.  Every  Rajput  should  be  able  to 
repeat  this  ;  though  it  is  now  confined  to  the  family  priest  or  the 
genealogist.  Many  chiefs,  in  these  degenerate  days,  would  be 
astonished  if  asked  to  repeat  their  gotracharya,  and  would  refer 
to  the  bard.  It  is  a  touchstone  of  affinities,  and  guardian  of  the 
laws  of  intermarriage.  When  the  inhibited  degrees  of  propinquity 
have  been  broken,  it  has  been  known  to  rectify  the  mistake, 
where,  however,  "  ignorance  was  bliss."  * 

^  Presented  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society. 

2  Moghji,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  bards  of  the  present  day ;  but, 
heartbroken,  he  has  now  but  the  woes  of  his  race  to  sing.  Yet  has  he  forgot 
them  for  a  moment  to  rehearse  the  deeds  of  Parsanga,  who  sealed  his  fidelity 
by  his  death  on  the  Ghaggar.  Then  the  invisible  mantle  of  Bhavani  was 
wrapt  around  him  ;  and  with  the  birad  (fvror  poeticus)  flowing  freely  of 
their  deeds  of  yore,  their  present  degradation,  time,  and  place  were  all 
forgot.  But  the  time  is  fast  approaching  when  he  may  sing  with  the 
Cambrian  bard  : 

"  Ye  lost  companions  of  my  tuneful  art, 
Where  are  ye  fled  ?  " 

^  One  or  two  specimens  shall  be  given  in  the  proper  place. 

*  A  prince  of  Bundi  had  married  a  Rajputni  of  the  Malani  tribe,  a  name 
now  unknown  :  but  a  bard  repeating  the  '  gotracharya,'  it  was  discovered 
to  have  been  about  eight  centuries  before  a  ramification  (sa!  ha)  (if  the 
Chauhan,  to  which  the  Hara  of  Bundi  belonged— divorce  and  expiatory 
rites,  with  great  unhappiness,  were  the  consequences.  What  a  contrast  to 
the  unhallowed  doctrmes  of  polyandry,  as  mentioned  amongst  the  Pandavas, 
the  Scythic  nations,  the  inhabitants  of  Sirmor  of  the  present  day,-  and 
pertaining  even  to  Britain  in  the  days  of  Caesar  ! — "  Uxores  habent  deni 


ANCIENT   MSS.l 


10 


15 


20 


Ikshwaku. 

Surya. 

Soma  or  Chandra. 

Yadu.  •         I 

Chahuman  (Chauha 

Pramara.  1 

Chalukya  or  Solany 

Parihara. 

Chawara. 

Dudia. 

Rathor. 

Gohil. 

Dabhi. 

Makwahaua. 

Norka. 

Aswaria. 

Salar  or  Silara. 

Sinda. 

Sepat. 

Huu  or  nun. 

Kirjal. 

Haraira. 

Rajpali. 

Dhanpali. 
25  Agnipali. 

Bala. 

Jhala. 

Bhagdola. 

Motdan. 
30  Mohor. 

Kagair. 

Karjeo. 

Chadlia. 

Pokara. 

Nikumbha. 
3<)  Salala. 


LKI    MaTA 


do  not, 
feie. 


ace). 


35 
26 
16 
12 

Single. 


CORRECTED    LIST   BY   THE    AUTHOR. 

Ikshwaku,  Kakutstha,  or  Surya 

Anwai,  Indu,  Som,  or  Chandra. 

Grahilot  or  Guhilot     .        .    24  Saljha. 

Yadu 4 

5  Tuar        .         .         .         .         |    jy 

Rathor  .        .        .        .        .13 

Kushwaha  or  Kachluvaha.' 

l^ramara 

Chahuman  or  Chauhan 
10  Chalukya  or  Solanki    . 

Parihara 

Chawara 

Tak,  Tak,  or  Takshak. 

Jat  or  Geta. 
15  Hun  or  Htin. 

Kathi. 

Bala. 

Jhala 2 

Jethwa  or  Kaniari. 
20  Gohil. 

Sarfveya. 

Silar. 

Dabhi. 

Gaur 5 

Doda  or  Dor. 

Gaharwal. 

Bargujar        ...  3 

Sengar    ....."   single. 

Sikarwal         .        .        .  Ho 

30  Bais        .        .        .        .        ;       do' 

Dahia. 

Johya. 

Mohll. 

Nikumbha. 

RajpaU. 
36  Dahima  ....       do. 

Extni. 

Hul. 
Daharya. 


25 


1  The  author,  aftei 

2  The  bard  Chand  ?i  Are." 

i  As  the  work  is  chn  to  the  last  "  of  all  the  mightiest  is  the  Chauhan 

■»  By  name  Moghji, 


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gliry. 

THE  THIRTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES  99 

Most  of  tlie  kula  (races)  are  divided  into  numerous  branches  ^ 
(sakha),  and  these  sakha  subdivided  into  innumerable  clans 
(gotra),^  the  most  important  of  which  shall  be  given.  A  few  of 
the  kula  never  ramified  :  these  are  termed  eka,  or  '  single  '  ;  and 
nearly  one-third  are  eka. 

A  table  of  the  '  eighty-four '  mercantile  tribes,  chiefly  of 
Rajput  origin,  shall  also  be  furnished,  in  which  the  remembrance 
of  some  races  are  preserved  which  would  have  perished.  Lists 
of  the  aboriginal,  the  agricultural  and  the  pastoral  tribes  are  also 
given  to  complete  the  subject. 

Solar  and  Lunar  Races. — In  the  earlier  ages  there  were  but 
two  races,  Surya  and  Chandra,  to  which  were  added  the  four 
Agnikulas  *  ;  in  all  six.  The  others  are  subdivisions  of  Surya 
and  Chandra,  or  the  sakha  of  Indo-Seythic  origin,  who  found  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  a  place  (though  a  low  one),  before  the 
Muhammadan  era,  amongst  the  thirty-six  regal  races  of  Rajasthan. 
The  former  we  may  not  imaptly  consider  as  to  the  time,  as  the 
Celtic,  the  latter  as  the  Gothic,  races  of  India.  On  the  generic 
terms  Surya  and  Chandra,  I  need  add  nothing  [83]. 

Grahilot  or  Guhilot. — Pedigree  *  of  the  Suryavansi  Rana,  of 
royal  race,  Lord  of  Chitor,  the  ornament  of  the  thirty -six  royal 
races. 

By  universal  consent,  as  well  as  by  the  gotra  of  this  race,  its 
princes  are  admitted  to  be  the  direct  descendants  of  Rama,  of  the 
Solar  line.     The  pedigree  is  deduced  from  him,  and  connected 

duodenique  inter  se  communes,"  says  that  accurate  writer,  speaking  of  the 
natives  of  this  island  ;  "  et  maxime  fratres  cum  fratribus,  parentesque  cum 
liberis  :  sed  si  qui  sint  ex  his  nati,  eorura  habentur  liheri,  quo  primura  virgo 
quaeque  deducta  est."     A  strange  medley  of  polyandry  and  polygamy  ! 

^  Aparam  sakham,  '  of  innumerable  branches,'  is  inscribed  on  an  ancient 
tablet  of  the  Guhilot  race. 

2  Got,  khanp,  denote  a  clan  ;  its  subdivisions  have  the  patronymic 
terminating  with  the  syllable  '  of,'  '  awat,'  '  sot,'  in  the  use  of  which  euphony 
alone  is  their  guide  :  thus,  Saldawat,  '  sons  of  Sakta '  ;  Kurmasot,  '  of 
Kurma  ' ;  Mairawat,  or  mairot,  mountaineers,  '  sons  of  the  mountains.' 
Such  is  the  Greek  Mainote,  from  maina,  a  mountain,  in  the  ancient  Albanian 
dialect,  of  eastern  origin. 

*  From  agni  {qu.  ignis  ?)  '  fire,'  the  sons  of  Vulcan,  as  the  others  of  Sol 
and  Luna,  or  Lunus,  to  change  the  sex  of  the  parent  of  the  Indu  (moou) 
race. 

*  Vansavali,  Suryavansi  Rajkuli  Rana  Chitor  ka  Dhani,  ChJiattis  Kuli 
Sengar. — MSS.  from  the  Rana's  library,  entitled  KJiuman  Raesa. 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

with  Sumitra,  the  last  prince  mentioned  in  the  genealogy  of  the 
Puranas. 

As  the  origin  and  progressive  history  of  this  family  will  be 
fully  discussed  in  the  "  Annals  of  Mewar,"  we  shall  here  only 
notice  the  changes  which  have  marked  the  patronymic,  as  well 
as  the  regions  which  have  been  under  their  sway,  from  Kanaksen, 
who,  in  the  second  century,  abandoned  his  native  kingdom, 
Kosala,  and  established  the  race  of  Surya  in  Saurashtra. 

On  the  site  of  Vairat,  the  celebrated  abode  of  the  Pandavas 
during  exile,  the  descendant  of  Ikshwaku  established  his  line,  and 
his  descendant  Vijaya,  in  a  few  generations,  built  Vijayapur.^ 

They  became  sovereigns,  if  not  founders,  of  Valabhi,  which 
had  a  separate  era  of  its  own,  called  the  Valabhi  Samvat,  according 
with  S.  Vikrama  375.^  Hence  they  became  the  Balakaraes,  or 
kings  of  Valabhi  ;  a  title  maintained  by  successive  dynasties  of 
Saurashtra  for  a  thousand  years  after  this  period,  as  can  be 
satisfactorily  proved  by  genuine  history  and  inscriptions. 

Gajni,  or  Gaini,  was  another  capital,  whence  the  last  prince, 
Siladitya  (who  was  slain),  and  his  family,  were  expelled  by 
Parthian  invaders  in  the  sixth  century. 

A  posthumous  son,  called  Grahaditya,  obtained  a  petty 
sovereignty  at  Idar.  The  change  was  marked  by  his  name 
becoming  the  patronymic,  and  Grahilot,  vulgo  Guhilot,  designated 
the  Suryavansa  of  Rama. 

With  reverses  and  migration  from  the  wilds  of  Idar  to  Ahar,' 
the  Guhilot  was  changed  to  Aharya,  by  which  title  the  race  con- 
tinued to  be  designated  till  the  twelfth  century,  when  the  elder 
brother,  Rahup,  abandoned  his  claim  to  "  the  [84]  throne  of  Chitor," 
obtained  ^  by  force  of  arms  from  the  Mori,*  and  settled  at  Dungar- 

^  Always  conjoined  with  Vairat  — '  Vijayapur  Vairatgarh.'  [Vairat 
forty-one  miles  north  of  Jaipur  city.  The  reference  in  the  text  is  merely 
a  bardie  fable,  there  being  no  connexion  between  Vijaya  and  this  place 
{ASM,  ii.  249).] 

2  A.D.  319.  The  inscription  recording  this,  as  well  as  others  relating  to 
Valabhi  and  this  era,  I  discovered  in  Saurashtra,  as  well  as  the  site  of  this 
ancient  capital,  occupying  the  position  of  '  Byzantium  '  in  Ptolemy's  geo- 
graphy of  India.  They  will  be  given  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society.     [The  Valabhi  agrees  with  the  Gupta  era  (Smith,  EH  I,  20).] 

3  Anandpur  Ahar,  or  '  Ahar  the  city  of  repose.'  By  the  tide  of  events, 
the  family  was  destined  to  fix  their  last  capital,  Udaipur,  near  Ahar. 

*  The  middle  of  the  eighth  century. 

*  [Or  Maurya],  a  Pramara  prince. 


THE  THIRTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES 


101 


pur,  which  he  yet  holds,  as  well  as  the  title  Aliarya  ;  while  the 
younger,  Mahup.  established  the  seat  of  power  at  Sesoda,  whence 
Sesodia  set  aside  both  Aharya  and  Guhilot. 

Sesodia  is  now  the  common  title  of  the  race  ;  but  being  only 
a  subdivision,  the  Guhilot  holds  its  rank  in  the  kula. 

The  Guliilot  kula  is  subdivided  mto  twenty-four  saklia,^  or 
ramifications,  few  of  which  exist  : 


1.  Aharya 

2.  Mangalia 

3.  Sesodia 

4.  Pipara 

5.  Kalam 

6.  Gahor 

7.  Dhornia 

8.  Goda 

9.  Magrasa 

10.  Bhiinla 

11.  Kamliotak 

12.  Kotecha 
1.3.  Sora 

14.  Uhar 

15.  Useba 

16.  Nirrup 

17.  Nadoria 

18.  Nadhota 

19.  Ojakra 

20.  Kuclilira 

21.  Dosadh 

22.  Betwara 

23.  Paha 

24.  Purot 


At  Dungarpur. 

In  the  Deserts. 

Mewar. 

In  Marwar. 


,  In  few  numbers,  and  mostly 
'  now  imknown. 


'  ^\Jmost  extinct. 


i  [85] 


Yadu,  Yadava. — The  Yadu  was  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the 
tribes  of  Ind,  and  became  the  patronymic  of  the  descendants 
of  Budha,  progenitor  of  the  Lunar  (Indu)  race.  Yudhishthira 
and  Baladeva,  on  the  death  of  Krishna  and  their  expulsion  from 
Delhi  and  Dwaraka,  the  last  stronghold  of  their  power,  retired 
by  Multan  across  the  Indus.     The  two  first  are  abandoned  by 


[For  a  different  list,  see  Census  Report,  RajputMna,  1911,  i.  256.] 


102  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

tradition  ;  but  the  sons  of  Krishna,  who  accompanied  them  after 
an  intermediate  halt  in  the  further  Duab  ^  of  the  five  rivers, 
eventually  left  the  Indus  behind,  and  passed  into  Zabulistan,^ 
founded  Gajni,  and  peopled  these  countries  even  to  Samarkand. 

The  annals  of  Jaisalmer,  which  give  this  early  history  of  their 
founder,  mix  up  in  a  confused  manner  ^  the  cause  of  their  being 
again  driven  back  into  India  ;  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  say 
whether  it  was  owing  to  the  Greek  princes  who  ruled  all  these 
countries  for  a  century  after  Alexander,  or  to  the  rise  of 
Islamism. 

Driven  back  on  the  Indus,  they  obtained  possession  of  the 
Panjab  and  founded  Salivahanpur.  Thence  expelled,  they  re- 
tired across  the  Sutlej  and  Ghara  into  the  Indian  deserts  ;  whence 
expelling  the  Langahas,  the  Johyas,  Mohilas,  etc.,  they  founded 
successively  Tanot,  Derawar,  and  Jaisalmer,*  in  S.  1212/  the 
present  capital  of  the  Bhattis,  the  lineal  successors  of  Krishna. 

Bhatti  was  the  exile  from  Zabulistan,  and  as  usual  with  the 
Rajput  races  on  any  such  event  in  their  annals,  his  name  set  aside 
the  more  ancient  patronymic,  Yadu.  The  Bhattis  subdued  all 
the  tracts  south  of  the  Ghara  ;  but  their  power  has  been  greatly 
circumscribed  since  the  arrival  of  the  Rathors.  The  Map  defines 
their  existing  limits,  and  their  annals  will  detail  their  past 
history. 

Jareja,  Jadeja  is  the  most  important  tribe  of  Yadu  race  next 
to  the  Bhatti.  Its  history  is  similar.  Descended  from  Krishna, 
and  migrating  simultaneously  with  the  remains  of  the  Harikulas, 
there  is  the  strongest  ground  for  believing  that  their  range  was  not 
so  wide  as  that  of  the  elder  branch,  but  that  they  settled  them- 
selves in  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  more  especially  on  the  west  shore 
in  Seistan  ;  and  in  nominal  and  armorial  distinctions,  even  in 
Alexander's  time,  they  retained  the  marks  of  their  ancestry  [86]. 

Sambos,  who  brought  on  him  the  arms  of  the  Grecians,  was  in 

^  The  place  where  they  found  refuge  was  in  the  cluster  of  hills  still  called 
Yadu  ka  dang,  '  the  Yadu  hills  '  : — the  Joudes  of  Rennell's  geography 
[see  p.  75  above]. 

2  [Zabuhstan,  with  its  capital,  Ghazni,  in  Afghanistan.] 

'  The  date  assigned  long  prior  to  the  Christian  era,  agrees  with  the 
Grecian,  but  the  names  and  manners  are  Muhammadan. 

*  Lodorwa  Patau,  whence  they  expelled  an  ancient  race,  was  their  capital 
before  Jaisalmer.     There  is  much  to  leam  of  these  regions. 

fi  A.D.  1155. 


THE  THIRTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES  103 

all  likelihood  a  Harikula  ;  and  the  Minnagara  of  Greek  historians 
Samanagara  ('  city  of  Sama  '),  his  capital.^ 

The  most  common  epithet  of  Krishna,  or  Hari,  was  Shania  or 
Syama,  from  his  dark  complexion.  Hence  the  Jareja  bore  it  as  a 
patronymic,  and  the  whole  race  were  Samaputras  (children  of 
Sama),  whence  the  titular  name  Sambos  of  its  princes.^ 

Tlie  modern  Jareja,  who,  from  circumstances  has  so  mixed 
with  the  Muhammadans  of  Sind  as  to  have  forfeited  all  pretensions 
to  purity  of  blood,  partly  in  ignorance  and  partly  to  cover  dis- 
grace, says  that  his  origin  is  from  Sham,  or  Syria,  and  of  the  stock 
of  tlie  Persian  Jamshid  :  consequently,  Sam  has  been  converted 
into  Jam  ^  ;  which  epithet  designates  one  of  the  Jareja  petty 
governments,  the  Jam  Raj. 

These  are  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  Yadu  race  ;  but  there 
are  others  who  still  bear  the  original  title,  of  which  the  head  is 
the  prince  of  the  petty  State  of  Karauli  on  the  Chambal. 

This  portion  of  the  Yadu  stock  would  appear  never  to  have 
strayed  far  beyond  the  ancient  limits  of  the  Suraseni,*  their 
ancestral  abodes.  They  held  the  celebrated  Bay  ana  ;  whence 
expelled,  they  established  Karauli  west,  and  Sabalgarh  east,  of 
the  Chambal.  The  tract  under  the  latter,  called  Yaduvati,  has 
been  wrested  from  the  family  by  Sindhia.  Sri  Mathura  ^  is  an 
independent  fief  of  Karauli,  held  by  a  junior  branch. 

The  Yadus,  or  as  pronounced  in  the  dialects  Jadon,  arc 
scattered  over  India,  and  many  chiefs  of  consequence  amongst 
the  Mahrattas  are  of  this  tribe. 

There  are  eight  sakha  of  the  Yadu  race  :  , 

1.  Yadu   .  .  .      Chief  Karauli. 

2.  Bhatti  .  .      Chief  Jaisalmer. 

3.  Jareja  .  .      Chief  Cutch  Bhuj. 

4.  Samecha        .  .     Muhammadans  in  Sind. 

^  [The  capital  of  Sambos  was  Sindiraana,  perhaps  the  modern  Sihwan 
(Smith,  EHI,  101).] 

2  [This  is  very  doubtful.] 

^  They  have  an  infinitely  better  etymology  for  this,  in  being  descendants 
of  Jambuvati,  one  of  Hari's  eight  wives.  [The  origin  of  the  term  Jam  is 
very  doubtful  :   see  Yule,  Hobson-Jobson,  s.v.] 

*  The  Suraseni  of  Vraj,  the  tract  so  named,  thirty  miles  around  Mathura. 

^  Its  chief,  Rao  Manohar  Singh,  was  well  known  to  me,  and  was,  I  may 
say,  my  friend.  For  years  letters  passed  between  us,  and  he  had  made  for 
me  a  transcript  of  a  valuable  copy  of  the  Mahabharata. 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

5.  Madecha 


6.  Bidman         .  .   j.  Unknown  [87]. 

7.  Baddi 

8.  Soha 


7.  Badda  .  .  j 


Tuar,  Tonwar,  Tomara. — The  Tuar,  though  acknowledged  as 
a  subdivision  of  the  Yadu,  is  placed  by  the  best  genealogists 
as  one  of  the  '  thirty-six,'  a  rank  to  which  its  celebrity  justly 
entitles  it. 

We  have  in  almost  every  ease  the  etymon  of  each  celebrated 
race.  For  the  Tuar  we  have  none  ;  and  we  must  rest  satisfied 
in  delivering  the  dictum  of  the  Bardai,  who  declares  it  of  Pandu 
origin. 

If  it  had  to  boast  only  of  Vikramaditya,  the  paramoimt  lord  of 
India,  whose  era,  established  fifty-six  years  before  the  Christian, 
still  serves  as  the  grand  beacon  of  Hindu  clironology,  this  alone 
would  entitle  the  Tuar  to  the  highest  rank.  But  it  has  other 
claims  to  respect.  Delhi,  the  ancient  Indraprastha,  founded  by 
Yudhishthira,  and  which  tradition  says  lay  desolate  for  eight 
centuries,  was  rebuilt  and  peopled  by  Anangpal  Tuar,  in  8.  848 
(a.d.  792),  who  was  followed  by  a  dynasty  of  twenty  princes, 
which  concluded  with  the  name  of  the  founder,  Anangpal,  in 
S.  1220  (a.d.  1164),^  when,  contrary  to  the  SaUc  law  of  the  Raj- 
puts, he  abdicated  (having  no  issue)  in  favour  of  his  grandchild, 
the  Chauhan  Prithviraja. 

The  Tuar  must  now  rest  on  his  ancient  fame  ;  for  not  an  inde- 
pendent possession  remains  to  the  race  ^  which  traces  its  lineage 
to  the  Pandavas,  boasts  of  Vikrama,  and  which  furnished  the 
last  dynasty,  emperors  of  Hindustan. 

It  would  be  a  fact  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
could  we  establish  to  conviction  that  the  last  Anangpal  Tuar  was 
the  lineal  descendant  of  the  founder  of  Indraprastha;  that  the 
issue  of  Y'^udhishthira  sat  on  the  throne  which  he  erected,  after  a 
lapse  of  2250  years      Universal  consent  admits  it,  and  the  fact  is 

^  [Vigraha-raja,  known  as  Visaladeva,  BTsal  Deo,  in  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century,  is  alleged  to  have  conqueredDelhi  from  a  chief  of  the 
Tomara  clan.  That  chief  was  a  descendant  of  Anangapala,  who,  a  century 
before,  had  built  the  Red  Fort  (Smith,  EHI,  386).] 

*  Several  Mahratta  chieftains  deduce  their  origin  from  the  Tuar  race,  as 
Ram  Rao  Phalkia,  a  very  gallant  leader  of  horse  in  Sindhia's  State. 


THE  THIRTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES  105 

us  well  established  as  most  others  of  a  historic  nature  of  such  a 
distant  period  :  nor  can  any  dynasty  or  family  of  Europe  produce 
evidence  so  strong  as  the  Tuar,  even  to  a  much  less  remote 
antiquity. 

The  chief  possessions  left  to  the  Tuars  are  the  district  of 
Tuargarh,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Chambal  towards  its  junction 
with  the  Jumna,  and  the  small  [88]  chieftainship  of  Patau  Tuar- 
vati  in  the  Jaipur  State,  and  whose  head  claims  affinity  with  the 
ancient  kings  of  Indraprastha. 

Rathor. — A  doubt  hangs  on  the  origin  of  this  justly  celebrated 
race.  The  Rathor  genealogies  trace  their  pedigi'ee  to  Kusa,  the' 
second  son  of  Rama  ;  consequently  they  would  be  Suryavansa. 
But  by  the  bards  of  this  race  they  are  denied  this  honour  ;  and 
although  Kushite,  they  are  held  to  be  the  descendants  of  Kasyapa, 
of  the  Solar  race,  by  the  daughter  of  a  Daitya  (Titan).  The  pro- 
geny of  Hiranyakasipu  is  accordingly  stigmatized  as  being  of 
demoniac  origin.  It  is  rather  singular  that  they  should  have  suc- 
ceeded to  the  Lunar  race  of  Kusanabha,  descendants  of  Ajamidha, 
the  fomiders  of  Kanauj.  Indeed,  some  genealogists  maintain  the 
Rathors  to  be  of  Kusika  race. 

The  pristine  locale  of  the  Rathors  is  Gadhipura,  or  Kanauj, 
A\here  they  are  found  entlironed  in  the  fifth  centurj^  ;  and  though 
beyond  that  period  they  connect  their  line  with  the  princes  of 
Kosala  or  Ayodhya,  the  fact  rests  on  assertion  only. 

From  the  fifth  century  their  history  is  cleared  from  the  mist 
of  ages,  which  envelops  them  all  prior  to  this  time  ;  and  in  the 
period  approaching  the  Tatar  conquest  of  India,  we  find  them 
contesting  with  the  last  Tuar  and  Chauhan  kings  of  Delhi,  and  the 
Balakaraes  of  Anhilwara,  the  right  to  paramount  importance 
amidst  the  princes  of  Ind.  The  combats  for  this  phantom  supre- 
macy destroyed  them  all.  Weakened  by  internal  strife,  the 
Chauhan  of  Delhi  fell,  and  his  death  exposed  the  north-west 
frontier.  Kanauj  followed  ;  and  while  its  last  prince,  Jaichand, 
found  a  grave  in  the  Ganges,  his  son  sought  an  asylum  in  Marust- 
hali,  '  the  regions  of  death.'  ^  Siahji  was  this  son  ;  the  founder 
of  the  Rathor  dynasty  in  Marwar,  on  the  ruins  of  the  Pariharas  of 
Mandor.  Here  they  brought  their  ancient  martial  spirit,  and  a 
more  valiant  being  exists  not  than  can  be  found  amongst  the  sons 
of  Siahji.  The  Mogul  emperors  were  indebted  for  half  their 
1  [This  is  a  pure  myth  (Smith,  EUI,  385,  413).] 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

conquests  to  the  Lakh  Tarwar  Rathoran,  '  the  100,000  swords  of 
the  Rathors  '  ;  for  it  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  50,000  of  the  blood 
of  Siahji  have  been  embodied  at  once.  But  enough  of  the  noble 
Rathors  for  the  present. 

The  Rathor  has  twenty-four  sakha :  Dhandal,  Bhadel,  Chachkit, 
Duharia,  Khokra,  Badara,  Chajira,  Ramdeva,  Kabria,  Hatundia, 
Malavat,  Sunda,  Katecha,  Maholi,  Gogadeva,  Mahecha,  .Taisingha, 
Mursia,  Jobsia,  Jora,  etc.,  etc.^  [89]. 

Rathor  Gotracharya. — Gotama  ^  Gotra  (race), — Mardawandani 
Sakha  (branch), — Sukracharya  Guru  (Regent  of  the  planet  Venus, 
Preceptor), — Garupata  Agni,' — Pankhani  Devi  (tutelary  goddess, 
winged).* 

Kachhwaha. — The  Kachhwaha  race  ^  is  descended  from  Kusa^ 
the  second  son  of  Rama.  They  are  the  Kushites  ®  as  the  Rajputs 
of  Mewar  are  the  Lavites  of  India.  Two  branches  migrated  from 
Kosala  :  one  founded  Rohtas  on  the  Son,  the  other  established 
a  colony  amidst  the  ravines  of  the  Kuwari,  at  Lahar.'  In  the 
course  of  time  they  erected  the  celebrated  fortress  of  Narwar,  or 
Nirwar,  the  abode  of  the  celebrated  Raja  Nala,  whose  descendants 
continued  to  hold  possession  throughout  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  Tatar  and  Mogul  domination,  when  they  were  deprived  of 

^  [For  a  fuller  list,  see  Census  Report,  Rajputana,  1911,  i.  255  f.] 
^  From  this  I  should  be  inclined  to  pronounce  the  Rathors  descendants 
of  a  race  (probably  Scythic)  professing  the  Buddhist  faith,  of  which  Gotama 
was  the  last  great  teacher,  and  disciple  of  the  last  Buddha  Mahivira,  in  S.  477 
(a.d.  533).     [Buddhism  and  Jainism  are,  as  usual,  confused.] 

*  Enigmatical — '  Clay  formation  by  fire  '  (agni). 

*  [The  Kuldevi,  or  family  goddess,  of  the  Rathors  in  Nagnaichian,  whose 
original  title  was  Rajeswari  or  Ratheswari,  her  present  name  being  taken 
from  tl^e  village  of  Nagana  in  Pachbhadra  ;  and  she  has  a  temple  in  the 
Jodhpur  fort,  with  shrines  under  the  mm  tree  {AzadirocJda  Indica)  which  is 
held  sacred  in  all  Rathor  settlements  [Census  Report,  Marwar,  1891,  ii.  25).] 

^  Erroneously  written  and  pronounced  Kutchwaha. 

^  The  resemblance  between  the  Kushite  Ramcsa  of  Ayodhya  and  the 
Rameses  of  Egypt  is  strong.  Each  was  attended  by  his  army  of  satyrs, 
Anubis  and  Cynocephalus,  which  last  is  a  Greek  misnomer,  for  the  animal 
bearing  this  title  is  of  the  Simian  family,  as  his  images  (in  the  Turin  museum) 
disclose,  and  the  brother  of  the  faithful  Hanuman.  The  comparison  be- 
tween the  deities  within  the  Indus  (called  Nilab,  '  blue  waters  ')  and  those 
of  the  Nile  in  Egypt,  is  a  point  well  worth  discussifhi.  [These  speculations 
are  untenable.] 

^  A  name  in  comphment,  probably,  to  the  elder  branch  of  their  race, 
Lava. 


THE  THIRTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES  107 

it  by  the  Mahrattas,  and  the  abode  of  Nala  is  now  a  dependency 
of  Sindhia. 

In  the  tenth  century  a  branch  emigrated  and  founded  Amber, 
dispossessing  the  aborigines,  the  Minas,  and  adding  from  the 
Rajput  tribe  Bargujar,  who  held  Rajor  and  large  possessions 
around.  But  even  in  the  twelfth  century  the  Kachhwahas  were 
but  principal  vassals  to  the  Chauhan  king  of  Delhi ;  and  they 
have  to  date  their  greatness,  as  the  other  families  (espeoi^-lly  the 
Ranas  of  Mewar)  of  Rajasthan  their  decline,  from  the  ascent  of 
the  house  of  Timur  to  the  throne  of  Delhi.  The  map  shows  the 
limits  of  the  sway  of  the  Kachhwahas,  including  their  branches, 
the  independent  Narukas  of  Macheri,  and  the  tributary  con- 
federated Shaikhavats.  The  Kachhwaha  subdivisions  have  been 
mislaid  ;^  but  the  present  partition  into  Kothris  (chambers),  of 
which  there  are  twelve,  shall  be  given  in  their  annals. 

Agnikulas,  Pramara. — 1st  Pramara.  There  are  four  races  to 
whom  the  Hindu  genealogists  have  given  Agni,  or  the  element 
of  fire,  as  progenitor.  The  Agnikulas  are  therefore  the  sons  of 
Vulcan,  as  the  others  are  of  Sol,^  Mercurius,  and  Terra  [90]. 

The  Agnikulas  are  the  Pramara,  the  Parihara,  the  Chalukya 
or  Solanki,  and  the  Chauhan.^ 

That  these  races,  the  sons  of  Agni,  were  but  regenerated,  and 
converted  by  the  Brahm'ans  to  fight  their  battles,  the  clearest 
interpretations   of  their  allegorical  history  will   disclose  ;    and, 

'  [See  a  list  in  Census  Report,  Rajputana,  1911,  i.  255.] 
^  There  is  a  captivating  elegance  thrown  around  the  theogonies  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  which  we  fail  to  impart  to  the  Hindu  ;  though  that  elegant 
scholar.  Sir  Wilham  Jones,  could  make  even  Sanskrit  literature  fascinating  ; 
and  that  it  merits  the  attempt  intrinsically,  we  may  infer  from  the  charm 
it  possesses  to  the  learned  chieftain  of  Rajasthan.  That  it  is  perfectly 
analogous  to  the  Greek  and  Roman,  we  have  but  to  translate  the  names  to 
show.     For  instance  : — 


Sol  XT. 

Lunar. 

Maricha 

(Lux)    .        .   Atri. 

Kasyapa 

(Uranus)      .   Samudra  (Oceanus). 

Vaivaswata  or  Surya 

(Sol)     .        .   Soma,  or  Ind  (Luna  ;   qu.  Lunus  ?). 

Vaivaswa  Manu 

(Fihus  Soils)  Brihaspati  (Jupiter). 

Ha         .        .        .        . 

(Terra)         .   Budha  (Mercurius). 

^  [Hoernle  {JRAS,  1905,  p.  20)  believes  that  the  Pariharas  were  the  only 
sept  which  claimed  fire-origin  before  Chand  (flor.  a.d.  1191).  But  a  legend 
of  the  kind  was  current  in  South  India  in  the  second  century  a.d.  {IA, 
xxxiv.  263).] 


108  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

as  the  most  ancient  of  their  inscriptions  are  in  the  Pali  character, 
discovered  wherever  the  Buddhist  rehgion  prevailed,  their  being 
declared  of  the  race  of  Tasta  or  Takshak,^  warrants  our  asserting 
the  Agnikulas  to  be  of  this  same  race,  which  invaded  India  about 
two  centuries  before  Christ.  It  was  about  this  period  that 
Parsvanatha  the  twenty-third  Buddha,^  appeared  in  India  ;  his 
symbol,  the  serpent.  The  legend  of  the  snake  (Takshak)  escap- 
ing wife  the  celebrated  work  Pingala,  which  was  recovered  by 
Garuda,  the  eagle  of  Krishna,  is  purely  allegorical ;  and  descrip- 
tive of  the  contentions  between  the  followers  of  Parswanatha, 
figured  under  his  emblem,  the  snake,  and  those  of  Krishna, 
depicted  under  his  sign,  the  eagle. 

The  worshippers  of  Surya  probably  recovered  their  power  on 
the  exterminating  civil  wars  of  the  Lunar  races,  but  the  creation 
of  the  Agnikulas  is  expressly  stated  to  be  for  the  preservation  of 
the  altars  of  Bal,  or  Iswara,  against  the  Daityas,  or  Atheists. 

The  ijelebrated  Abu,  or  Arbuda,  the  Olympus  of  Rajasthan, 
was  tlic  scene  of  contention  between  the  mmisters  of  Surya  and 
these  Titans,  and  their  relation  might,  with  the  aid  of  imagination, 
be  equally  amusing  with  the  Titanic  war  of  the  ancient  poets  of 
the  west  [91].  The  Buddhists  claim  it  for  Adinath,  their  first 
Buddlia  ;  the  Brahmans  for  Iswara,  or,  as  the  local  divinity  styled 
Achaleswara.*  The  Agnikunda  is  still  shown  on  the  summit  of 
Abu,  where  the  four  races  were  created  by  the  Brahmans  to  fight 
the  battles  of  Achaleswara  and  polytheism,  against  the  mono- 
theistic Buddhists,  represented  as  tlie  serpents  or  Takshaks.  The 
probable  period  of  this  conversion  has  been  hinted  at ;   but  of  the 

^  Figuratively,  '  the  serpent.' 

^  To  me  it  appears  that  there  were  four  distinguished  Buddhas  or  -wise 
men,  teachers  of  monotheism  in  India,  which  they  brought  from  Central 
Asia,  with  their  science  and  its  written  character,  the  arrow  or  nail-headed, 
which  I  have  discovered  wherever  they  have  been,— in  the  deserts  of  Jaisal- 
mer,  in  the  heart  of  Rajasthan,  and  the  shores  of  Saurashtra ;  which  were 
their  nurseries. 

The  first  Budha  is  the  parent  of  the  Lunar  race,  a.c.  2250. 
The  second  (twenty-second  of  the  Jains),  Nemnath,  a.c.  1120. 
The  third     (twenty-third  do.         ),  Parsawanath,  a.c.  650. 

The  fourth  (twenty-fourth  do.         ),  Mahivira,  A.c.  533. 

[The  author  confuses  Budha,  Mercury,  with  Buddha,  the  Teacher,  and  mixes 
up  Buddhists  with  Jains.] 

^  AcJial,  '  immovable,'  eswara,  '  lord.' 


THE  PRAMARAS  109 

dynasties  issuing  from  the  Agnikulas,  many  of  the  princes 
professed  the  Buddhist  or  Jain  faith,  to  periods  so  late  as  the 
Muhammadan  invasion. 

The  Pramara,  though  not,  as  his  name  implies,  the  '  chief 
warrior,'  was  the  most  potent  of  the  Agnikulas.  He  sent  forth 
thirty-five  sakha,  or  branches,  several  of  whom  enjoyed  extensive 
sovereignties.  '  The  world  is  the  Pramar's,'  is  an  ancient  saying, 
denoting  their  extensive  sway  ;  and  the  Naukot  ^  Marusthali 
signified  the  nine  divisions  into  which  the  country,  from  th<» 
Sutlej  to  the  ocean,  was  partitioned  amongst  them. 

Maheswar,  Dhar,  Mandu,  Ujjain,  Chandrabhaga,  Chitor,  Abu, 
Chandravati,  Mhau  Maidana,  Parmavati,  Umarkot,  Bakhar, 
Lodorva,  and  Patau  are  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  cajjitals 
they  conquered  or  founded. 

Though  the  Pramara  family  never  equalled  in  wealth  the 
famed  Solanki  princes  of  Anhilwara,  or  shone  with  such  lustre  as 
the  Chauhan,  it  attained  a  wider  range  and  an  earlier  consolida- 
tion of  dominion  than  either,  and  far  excelled  in  all,  the  Parihara, 
the  last  and  least  of  the  Agnikulas,  which  it  long  held  tributary. 

Maheswar,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Haihaya  kings,  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  seat  of  government  of  the  Pramaras.  They 
subsequently  founded  Dharanagar,  and  Mandu  on  the  crest  of 
the  Vindhya  hills  ;  and  to  them  is  even  attributed  the  city  of 
Ujjain,  the  first  meridian  of  the  Hindus,  and  the  seat  of  Vikrama. 

There  are  numerous  records  of  the  family,  fixing  eras  in  their 
history  of  more  modern  times  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
interpretation  of  yet  undeciphered  inscriptions  may  carry  us 
back  beyond  the  seventh  century. 

The  era  ^  of  Bhoj,  the  son  of  Munja,  has  been  satisfactorily 
settled  ;  and  an  [92]  inscription  *  in  the  nail-headed  character, 
carries  it  back  a  step  further,*  and  elicits  an  historical  fact  of 
infinite  value,  giving  the  date  of  the  last  prince  of  the  Pramaras 
of  Chitor,  and  the  consequent  accession  of  the  Guhilots. 

^  It  extended  from  the  Indus  almost  to  the  Jumna,  occupying  all  the 
sandy  regions,  Naukot,  Arbuda  or  Abu,  Dhat,  Mandodri,  Kheralu,  Parkar, 
Lodorva,  and  Pugal. 

2  See  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i.  p.  227.  [Raja 
Munja  of  Malwa  reigned  a.d.  974-995.  The  famous  Bhoja,  his  nephew,  not 
bis  son,  1018-60  (Smith,  EHI,  395).] 

3  Which  will  be  given  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society. 
*  S.  770,  or  A.D.  714. 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

The  Nerbudda  was  no  limit  to  the  power  of  the  Pramaras 
About  the  very  period  of  the  foregoing  inscription,  Ram  Pramar 
held  his  court  in  Telingana,  and  is  invested  by  the  Chauhan  Bard, 
Chand,  with  the  dignity  of  paramount  sovereign  of  India,  and 
head  of  a  splendid  feudal  ^  association,  whose  members  became 
independent  on  his  death.  The  Bard  makes  this  a  voluntary  act 
of  the  Pramaras  ;  but  coupled  with  the  Guhilots'  violent  acquisi- 
tion of  Chitor,  we  may  suppose  the  successor  of  Ram  was  unable 
to  maintain  such  supremacy. 

While  Hindu  literature  survives  the  name  of  Bhoj  Pramara 
and  '  the  nine  gems  '  of  his  court  cannot  perish  ;  though  it  is 
difficult  to  say  which  of  the  three  ^  princes  of  this  name  is  particu- 
larly alluded  to,  as  they  all  appear  to  have  been  patrons  of  science 

Chandragupta,  the  supposed  opponent  of  Alexander,  was  a 
Maurya,  and  in  the  sacred  genealogies  is  declared  of  the  race  of 
Takshak.  The  ancient  inscriptions  of  the  Pramars,  of  which  the 
Maurya  is  a  principal  branch,  declare  it  of  the  race  of  Tasta  and 
Takshak,  as  does  that  now  given  from  the  seat  of  their  power,  Chitor.^ 

Salivahana,  the  conqueror  of  Vikramaditya,  was  a  Takshak, 
and  his  era  set  aside  that  of  the  Tuar  in  the  Deccan. 

Not  one  remnant  of  independence  exists  to  mark  the  greatness 
of  the  Pramaras  :   ruins  are  the  sole  records  of  their  power.     The 

1  "  When  the  Pramar  of  Tilang  took  sanctuary  with  Har,  to  the  thirty- 
six  tribes  he  made  gifts  of  land.  To  Kehar  he  gave  Katehr,  to  Rae  Pahar 
the  coast  of  Sind,  to  the  heroes  of  the  shell  the  forest  lands.  Ram  Pramar 
of  Tilang,  the  Chal<ravartin  lord  of  Uj jain,  made  the  gift.  He  bestowed  Delhi 
on  the  Tuars,  and  Patan  on  the  Chawaras  ;  Sambhar  on  the  Chauhans,  and 
Kanauj  on  the  Kamdliuj  ;  Mardes  on  the  Parihar,  Sorath  on  the  Jadon,  the 
Deccan  on  Jawala,  and  Cutch  on  the  Charan ''  (Poems  of  Chand).  [This  is 
an  invention  of  the  courtly  bard.] 

2  The  inscrii^tion  gives  S.  1100  (a.d.  1044)  for  the  third  Bhoj  :  and  this 
date  agrees  with  the  period  assigned  to  this  prince  in  an  ancient  Chrono- 
grammatic  Catalogue  of  reigns  embracing  all  the  Princes  of  the  name  of 
Bhoj,  which  may  therefore  be  considered  authentic.  This  authority  assigns 
S.  631  and  721  (or  a.d.  575  and  665)  to  the  first  and  second  Bhoj. 

^  Herbert  has  a  curious  story  of  Chitor  being  called  Taxila  ;  thence  the 
story  of  the  Ranas  being  sons  of  Porus.  I  have  an  inscription  from  a  temple 
on  the  Chambal,  within  the  ancient  limits  of  Mewar,  which  mentions  Taksha- 
silanagara,  '  the  stone  fort  of  the  Tak,'  but  I  cannot  apply  it.  The  city  of 
Toda  (Tonk,  or  properly  Tanka)  is  called  in  the  Chauhan  chronicles,  Takat- 
pur.  [Takshasila,  the  Taxila  of  the  Greeks,  the  name  meaning  '  the  hewn 
rock,'  or  more  probably,  '  the  rock  of  Taksha,'  the  Naga  king,  is  the  modern 
Shahderi  in  the  Rawalpindi  District,  Panjab  (IGI,  xxii.  200  f.).] 


THE  PRAMARAS  111 

prince  of  Dhat,^  in  the  Indian  [93]  desert,  is  the  last  phantom  of 
royalty  of  the  race  ;  and  the  descendant  of  the  prince  who  pro- 
tected Humayun,  when  driven  from  the  throne  of  Tin\ur,  in 
whose  capital,  Umarkot,  the  great  Akbar  was  born,  is  at  the  foot 
of  fortune's  ladder  ;  his  throne  in  the  desert,  the  footstool  of  the 
Baloeh,  on  whose  bounty  he  is  dependent  for  support. 

Among  the  thirty-five  sakha  of  the  Pramaras  the  Vihal  was 
eminent,  the  princes  of  which  line  appear  to  have  been  lords  of 
Chandravati,  at  the  foot  of  the  Aravalli.  The  Rao  of  Bijolia, 
one  of  the  sixteen  superior  nobles  of  the  Rana's  court,  is  a  Pramara 
of  the  ancient  stock  of  Dhar,  and  perhaps  its  most  respectable 
representative. 

Thirty-Five  Sakha  of  the  Pramaras 

Mori  [or  Mauryn]. — Of  which  was  Chandragupta,  and  the 
princes  of  Chitor  prior  to  the  Guhilot. 

Sodha. — Sogdoi  of  Alexander,  the  princes  of  Dhat  in  the 
Indian  desert. 

Sankhla. — Chiefs  of  Pugal,  and  in  Marwar. 

Khair. — Capital  Khairalu. 

Umra  and  Suinra. — Anciently  in  the  desert,  nowMuhammadans. 

Vihal,  or  Bihal. — Princes  of  Chandravati. 

Mepawat. — Present  chief  of  Bijolia  in  Mewar. 

Balhar. — Northern  desert. 

Kaba. — Celebrated  in  Saui-ashtra  in  ancient  times,  a  few  yet 
in  Sirohi. 

Vmata. — The  princes  of  Umatwara  in  Malwa,  there  established 
for  twelve  generations.  Umatwara  is  the  largest  tract  left  to 
the  Pramaras.  Since  the  war  in  1817,  being  under  the  British 
interference,  they  cannot  be  called  independent. 

Rehar 


IGu 


Dhunda      .  •  .       •  \  Girasia  petty  chiefs  in  Malwa. 

Sorathia 

Harer^        .  .  .  ' 

^  Of  the  Sodha  tribe,  a  grand  division  of  the  Pramaras,  and  who  held  all 
the  desert  regions  in  remote  times.  Their  subdivisions,  Umra  and  Sumra, 
gave  the  names  to  Umarkot  and  Umrasumra,  in  which  was  the  insular  Bakhar, 
on  the  Indus  :  so  that  we  do  not  misapply  etymology,  when  we  say  in  Sodha 
we  have  the  Sogdoi  of  Alexander.    " 

2  [For  a  different  list  see  Census  Report    MaJ2nitana,  1911,  i.  255.] 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Besides  others  unknown  ;  as  Chaonda,  Khejar,  Sagra,  Barkota, 
Puni,  Sampal,  Bhiba,  Kalpusar,  Kalmoh,  KohiJa,  Papa,  Kahoria, 
Dhand,  Deba,  Barhar,  Jipra,  Posra,  Dhunta,  Rikamva,  and 
Taika.  Many  of  these  are  proselytes  to  Islamism,  and  several 
beyond  the  Indus  [94]. 

Chahuman  or  Chauhan. — On  this  race  so  much  has  been  said 
elsewhere,^  that  it  would  be  superfluous  to  give  more  than  a 
rapid  sketch  of  them  here. 

This  is  the  most  vahant  of  the  Agnikulas,  and  it  niay  be 
asserted  not  of  them  only,  but  of  the  whole  Rajput  race.  Actions 
may  be  recorded  of  the  greater  part  of  each  of  the  Chhattis-kula, 
which  would  yield  to  none  in  the  ample  and  varied  pages  of 
history  ;  and  though  the  '  Talwar  Rathoran  '  would  be  ready  to 
contest  the  point,  impartial  decision,  with  a  knowledge  of  their 
respective  merits,  must  assign  to  the  Chauhan  the  van  in  the 
long  career  of  arms. 

Its  branches  (sakha)  have  maintained  all  the  vigour  of  the 
original  stem  ;  and  the  Haras,  the  Khichis,  the  Deoras,  the 
Sonigiras,  and  others  of  the  twenty-four,  have  their  names 
immortalised  in  the  song  of  the  bard. 

The  derivation  of  Chauhan  is  coeval  vnth  his  fabulous  birth  : 
'the  four-handed  warrior'  {Chatur-bhuja  Chatur-bahu  Vira). 
All  failed  when  sent  against  the  demons,  but  the  Chauhan,  the 
last  creation  of  the  Brahmans  to  fight  their  battles  against 
infidelity. 

A  short  extract  may  be  acceptable  fi-om  the  original  respecting 
the  birth  of  the  Chauhan,  to  guard  the  rites  of  our  Indian  Jove 
on  this  Olympus,  the  sacred  Abu  :  "  the  Guru  of  mountains,  like 
Sumer  or  Kailas,  which  Achaleswara  made  his  abode.  Fast  but 
one  day  on  its  summit,  and  your  sins  will  be  forgiven  ;  reside 
there  for  a  year,  and  you  may  become  the  preceptor  of  mankind." 

The  Agnikunda  Fire-pit. — Notwithstanding  the  sanctity  of 
Abu,  and  the  little  temptation  to  disturb  the  anchorites  of  Bal, 
"  the  Munis,  who  passed  their  time  in  devotion,  whom  desire 
never  approached,  who  drew  support  from  the  cow,  from  roots, 
fruits,  and  flowers,"  yet  did  the  Daityas,  envying  their  felicity, 
render  the  sacrifice  impure,  and  stop  in  transit  the  share  of  the 
gods.     "  The  Brahmans  dug'  the  pit  for  burnt-sacrifice  to  the 

^  See  Traiisactions  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i.  p.  133,  '  Comments 
on  a  Sanskrit  Inscription.'     ^ 


THE  CHAUHANS  113 

south-west  (nairrit)  ;  but  the  demons  ^  raised  storms  which 
darkened  the  air  and  filled  it  with  clouds  of  sand,  showering 
ordure,  blood,  bones  and  flesh,  with  every  imjijurity,  on  their 
rites.     Their  penance  was  of  no  avail." 

Again  they  kindled  the  sacred  fire  ;  and  the  priests,  assembling 
round  the  Agnikunda,^  prayed  for  aid  to  Mahadeo  [95].  "  From 
the  fire-fountain  a  figure  issued  forth,  but  he  had  not  a  warrior's 
mien.  The  Brahmans  placed  him  as  guardian  of  the  gate,  and 
thence  his  name,  Prithivi-dwara.*  A  second  issued  forth,  and 
being  formed  in  the  palm  (challu)  of  the  hand  was  named  Chalukya. 
A  third  appeared  and  was  named  Pramara.*  He  had  the  blessing 
of  the  Rishis,  and  with  the  others  went  against  the  demons,  but 
they  did  not  prevail.  Again  Vasishtha,*  seated  on  the  lotus, 
prepared  incantations  ;  again  he  called  the  gods  to  aid  :  and,  as 
he  poured  forth  the  libation,  a  figure  arose,  lofty  in  stature,  of 
elevated  front,  hair  like  jet,  eyes  rolling,  breast  expanded,  fierce, 
terrific,  clad  in  armour,  quiver  filled,  a  bow  in  one  hand  and  a 
brand  in  the  other,  quadriform  (Chaturanga),^  whence  his  name, 
Chauhxin. 

"  Vasishtha  prayed  that  his  hope  '  might  be  at  length  fulfilled, 
as  the  Chauhan  was  despatched  against  the  demons.  Sakti-devi  * 
on  her  lion,  armed  with  the  trident,  descended,  and  bestowed  her 
blessing  on  the  Chauhan,  and  as  Asapurna,  or  Kalika,  promised 
always  to  hear  his  prayer.  He  went  against  the  demons  ;  their 
leaders  he  slew.  The  rest  fled,  nor  halted  till  they  reached  the 
depths  of  hell.  Anhal  slew  the  demons.  The  Brahmans  were 
made  happy  ;   and  of  his  race  was  Prithwiraja."  ^ 

^  Asura-Daitya,  which  Titans  were  either  the  aboriginal  Bhils  or  tlie 
Scythic  hordes. 

-  I  have  visited  this  classic  spot  in  Hindu  mythology.  An  image  of 
Adipal  (the  '  first-created '),  in  marble,  still  adorns  its  embankment,  and  is 
a  piece  of  very  fine  sculpture.     It  was  too  sacred  a  relic  to  remove. 

^  '  Portal  or  door  (dwar)  of  the  earth  '  ;  contracted  to  Prithihara  and 
Parihara.  *  '  The  first  striker.' 

^  [In  the  Hara  version  of  the  legend  the  presiding  priest  is  Visvamitra.] 

^  Clmtur  ;   anga,  '  body  '  [chaturbdh^i']. 

'  Asa,  '  hope,'  puma,  to  '  fulfil '  ;  whence  the  tutelary  goddess  of  the 
Chauhan  race,  Asapurna. 

^  The  goddess  of  energy  (Sakti). 

^  [Cunningham  points  out  that  in  the  original  story  only  the  Chauhan 
was  created  from  the  fire-pit,  the  reference  to  other  clans  being  a  later  addi- 
tion (ASR,  ii.  255).] 

VOL.  I  1 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

The  genealogical  tree  of  the  Chauhans  exhibits  thirty-nine 
princes,  from  Anhal,  the  first  created  Chauhan,  to  Prithwiraja, 
the  last  of  the  Hindu  emperors  of  India.^  But  whether  the  chain 
is  entire  we  cannot  say.  The  inference  is  decidedly  against  its 
being  so  ;  for  this  creation  or  regeneration  is  assigned  to  an  age 
centuries  anterior  to  Vikramaditya  :  and  we  may  safely  state 
these  converts  to  be  of  the  Takshak  race,  invaders  of  India  ut  a 
very  early  period. 

Ajaipal  is  a  name  celebrated  in  the  Chauhan  chronicles,  as  the 
founder  of  the  fortress  of  Ajmer,  one  of  the  earliest  establishments 
of  Chauhan  power. ^ 

Sambhar,^  on  the  banks  of  the  extensive  salt  lake  of  the  same 
name,  was  probably  anterior  to  Ajmer,  and  yielded  an  epithet 
to  the  princes  of  this  race,  who  [96]  were  styled  Sambhari  Rao. 
These  continued  to  be  the  most  important  places  of  Chauhan 
power,  until  the  translation  of  Prithwiraja  to  the  imperial  throne 
of  Delhi  threw  a  parting  halo  of  splendour  over  the  last  of  its 
independent  kings.  There  were  several  princes  whose  actions 
emblazon  the  history  of  the  Chauhans.  Of  these  was  Manika 
Rae,  who  first  opposed  the  progress  of  the  Muhammadan  arms. 
Even  the  history  of  the  conquerors  records  that  the  most  obstinate 
opposition  which  the  arms  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  encountered 
was  from  the  prince  of  Ajmer,*  who  forced  him  to  retreat,  foiled 
and  disgraced,  from  this  celebrated  stronghold,  in  his  destructive 
route  to  Saurashtra. 

The  attack  on  Manika  Rae  appears  to  have  been  by  Kasim,  the 
general  of  Walid,  on  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  the  Hegira.' 
The  second  attack  was  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  A  third 
was  (luring  the  reign  of  Bisaladeva,  who  headed  a  grand  con- 

^  Born  in  S.  1215,  or  a.d.  1159.  [Anhala  or  Agnipala  is  here  the  head  of 
the  Chauhan  line  ;  but  a  different  list  appears  in  the  Hammira  Maha- 
kavya  of  Nayachhandra  Suri  (I A,  viii.  55  ff.).] 

"  [Ajmer  is  commonly  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Raja  Aja,  a.d.  145. 
It  was  founded  by  Ajayadeva  Chauhan  about  a.d.  1100  {lA,  xxv.  162  f.).] 

'  A  name  derived  from  the  goddess  Sakambhari,  the  tutelar^'  divinity  of 
the  tribes,  whose  statue  is  in  the  middle  of  the  lake. 

*  Dharma  Dhiraj,  father  of  Bisaladeva,  must  have  been  the  defender  on 
this  occasion. 

^  [Muhammad  bin  Kasim  seems  to  have  marched  along  the  Indus  valley, 
not  in  the  direction  of  Ajmer  (Malik  Muhammad  Din,  Bcihawalpur  Gazet- 
teer, i.  28).] 


THE  CHAUHANS  115 

federacy  of  the  Rajput  princes  against  the  foes  of  their  religion. 
The  celebrated  Udayaditya  Pramar  is  enumerated  amongst  the 
chiefs  acting  in  subserviency  to  the  Chauhan  prince  on  this 
occasion,  and  as  his  death  has  been  fixed  by  unerring  records  in 
A.D.  1096,  this  combination  must  have  been  against  the  Islamite 
king  Maudud,  the  fourth  from  Mahmud  ;  and  to  this  victory  is  the 
allusion  in  the  inscription  on  the  ancient  pillar  of  Delhi.^  But 
these  irruptions  continued  to  the  captivity  and  death  of  the  last 
of  the  Chauhans,  whose  reign  exhibits  a  splendid  picture  of 
feudal  manners. 

The  Chauhans  sent  forth  twenty-four  branches,  of  whom  the 
most  celebrated  are  the  existing  families  of  Bundi  and  Kotah,  in 
the  division  termed  Haravati.  They  have  well  maintained  the 
Chauhan  reputation  for  valour.  Six  princely  brothers  shed  their 
blood  in  one  field,  in  the  support  of  the  aged  Shah  Jahan  against  his 
rebellious  son  Aurangzeb,  and  of  the  six  but  one  survived  his  wounds. 

The  Khichis  ^  of  Gagraun  and  Raghugarh,  the  Deoras  of  Sirohi, 
the  Sonigiras  of  Jalor,  the  Chauhans  of  Sui  Bah  and  Sanchor,  and 
the  Pawechas  of  Pawagarh,  have  all  immortalized  themselves  by 
the  most  heroic  and  devoted  deeds.  Most  of  these  famihes  yet 
exist,  brave  as  in  the  days  of  Prithwiraja. 

Many  chiefs  of  the  Chauhan  race  abandoned  their  faith  to 
preserve  their  lands,  the  Kaimkhani,^  the  Sarwanis,  the  Lowanis, 
the  Kararwanis,  and  the  Bedwanas  [97],  chiefly  residing  in  Shaik- 
havati,  are  the  most  conspicuous.  No  less  than  twelve  petty 
princes  thus  deserted  their  faith  :  which,  however,  is  not  contrary 
to  the  Rajput  creed  ;  for  even  Manu  says,  they  may  part  with 
wife  to  preserve  their  land.  Isaridas,  nephew  of  Prithwiraja,  was 
the  first  who  set  this  example. 

Twenty-four  Sakha  of  the  Chauhans. — Chauhan,  Hara,  Khichi, 
Sonigira,  Deora,  Pabia,  Sanchora,  Goelwal,  Bhadauria,  Nirwan, 
Malani,  Purbia,  Sura,  Madrecha,  Sankrecha,  Bhurecha,  Balecha, 
Tasera,  Chachera,  Rosia,  Chanda,  Nikumbha,  Bhawar,  and 
Bankat.* 

^  [This  is  doubtful.  Maudud  seems  to  have  not  come  further  south 
than  Sialkot  (Al  Badaoni,  Muntakhabu-t-tawdrilch,  i.  49  ;  EIIiot-Dowson 
ii.  273,  iv.  139  f.,  199  f.,  v.  160  f.)-] 

^  [The  author  has  barely  noticed  the  Khichis  ;  for  an  account  of  them 
see  ASR,  ii.  249  ff.]  ^  About  Fatehp  ir  Jhunjhunu. 

*  [For  a  different  Ust  see  Rajputana  Censiis  Report,  1911,  i.  255.] 


116  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Chalukya  or  Solanki. — Though  we  cannot  trace  the  history  of 
this  branch  of  the  Agnikulas  to  such  periods  of  antiquity  as  the 
Pramara  or  Chauhan,  it  is  from  the  deficiency  of  materials,  rather 
than  any  want  of  celebrity,  that  we  are  unable  to  place  it,  in  this 
respect,  on  a  level  with  them.  The  tradition  of  the  bard  makes 
the  Solankis  important  as  princes  of  Sura  on  the  Ganges,  ere 
the  Rathors  obtained  Kanauj.^  The  genealogical  test^  claims 
Lohkot,  said  to  be  the  ancient  Lahore,  as  a  residence,  which 
makes  them  of  the  same  Sakha  (Madhwani)  as  the  Chauhans. 
Certain  it  is,  that  in  the  eighth  century  we  find  the  Langahas  ' 
and  Togras  inhabiting  Multan  and  the  surrounding  country,  the 
chief  opponents  of  the  Bhattis  on  their  establishment  in  the 
desert.  They  were  princes  of  Kalyan,  on  the  Malabar  coast,* 
which  city  still  exhibits  vestiges  of  ancient  grandeur.  It  was 
from  Kalyan  that  a  scion  of  the  Solanki  tree  was  taken,  and 
engrafted  on  the  royal  stem  of  the  Chawaras  of  Anhilwara  Patan. 

It  was  in  S.  987  (a.d.  931)  that  Bhojraj,  the  last  of  the  Chawa- 
ras, and  the  Salic  law  of  India  were  both  set  aside,  to  make  way 
for  the  young  Solanki,  Mulraj,*  who  ruled  Anhilwara  for  the  space 
of  fifty-eight  years.  During  the  reign  of  his  son  and  successor, 
Chamimd  Rae,*^  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  carried  his  desolatiag  arms  into 
the  kingdom  of  Anhilwara.  With  its  wealth  he  raised  those  [98] 
magnificent  trophies  of  his  conquest,  among  which  the  '  Celestial 

^  [The  Chalukya  is  a  Gurjara  tribe,  the  name  being  the  Sanskritized  form 
of  the  old  dynastic  title,  Chalkya,  of  the  Deccan  dynasty  (a.d.  552—973) ;  and 
of  this  Solanki  is  a  dialectical  variant  {lA,  xi.  24  ;  BG,  i.  Part  i.  156,  Part  ii. 
336).] 

2  Solanki  Gotracharya  is  thus:  ''Madhwani  Sakha  —  Bharadwaja 
Gotra — Garh  Lohkot  nikas — Sarasvati  Nadi  (river) — Sama  Veda — Kapalis- 
war  Deva — Karduman  Rikheswar — Tin  Parwar  Zunar  (zone  of  three  threads) 
— -Keonj  Devi — Mahipal  Putra  (one  of  the  Penates)."  [Lohkot  is  Lohara 
in  Kashmir  (Stein,  Bajatarangini,  i.  Introd.  108,  ii.  293  ff.)-] 

*  Called  Malkhani,  being  the  sons  of  Mai  Khan,  the  first  apostate  from 
his  faith  to  Islamism.  Whether  these  branches  of  the  Solankis  were  com- 
pelled to  quit  their  religion,  or  did  it  voluntarily,  we  know  not. 

*  Near  Bombay.     [In  Thana  District,  not  Malabar  coast.] 

^  Son  of  Jai  Singh  Solanki,  the  emigrant  prince  of  Kalyan,  who  married 
the  daughter  of  Bhojraj.  These  particulars  are  taken  from  a  valuable  little 
geographical  and  historical  treatise,  incomplete  and  without  title.  [Mul- 
araja  Chaulnkya,  a.d.  961—96,  was  son  of  Bhubhata  :  Chamunda,  a.d.  997- 
1010  ;  it  was  in  the  reign  of  Bhima  I.  (1022-64)  that  Mahmiid's  invasion  in 
A.D.  1024  occurred  {BG,  i.  Part  i.  156  ff.  164).] 

*  ('ailed  Chamund  by  Muhammadan  historians. 


THE  CHALUKYAS  117 

Bride  '  might  have  vied  with  anything  ever  erected  by  man  as 
a  monument  of  folly .^  The  wealth  abstracted,  as  reported  in 
the  liistory  of  the  conquerors,  by  this  scourge  of  India,  though 
deemed  incredible,  would  obtain  belief,  if  the  commercial  riches 
of  Anhilwara  could  be  appreciated.  It  was  to  India  what  Venice 
was  to  Europe,  the  entrepot  of  the  products  of  both  the  eastern 
and  western  hemispheres.  It  fully  recovered  the  shock  given  by 
Mahmud  and  the  desultory  wars  of  his  successors  ;  and  we  find 
Siddharaja  Jayasingha,^  the  seventh  from  the  founder,  at  the 
head  of  the  richest,  if  not  the  most  warlike,  kingdom  of  India. 
Two-and-twenty  principalities  at  one  time  owned  his  power,  from 
the  Carnatic  to  the  base  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains  ;  but  his 
unwise  successor  drew  upon  himself  the  vengeance  of  the  Chauhan, 
PrithAviraja,  a  slip  of  which  race  was  engrafted,  in  the  person  of 
Kumarapala,  on  the  genealogical  tree  of  the  Solankis  ;  *  and  it  is 
a  curious  fact  that  this  dynasty  of  the  Balakaraes  alone  gives  us 
two  examples  of  the  Salic  law  of  India  being  violated.  Kumara- 
pala, installed  on  the  throne  of  Anhilwara,  '  tied  round  his  head 
the  turban  of  the  Solanki.'  He  became  of  the  tribe  into  which 
he  was  adopted.  Kumarapala,  as  well  as  Siddharaja,  was  the 
patron  of  Buddhism  ;  *  and  the  monuments  erected  under  them 
and  their  successors  claim  our  admiration,  from  their  magnificence 
and  the  perfection  of  the  arts  ;  for  at  no  period  were  they  more 
cultivated  than  at  the  courts  of  AnhUwara. 

The  lieutenants  of  Shihabu-d-din  disturbed  the  close  of  Kumara- 
pal's  reign  ;  and  his  successor,  Balo  Muldeo,  closed  this  dynasty 
in  S.  1284  (a.d.  1228),  when  a  new  dynasty,  called  the  Vaghela 
(descendants  of  Siddharaja)  under  BIsaldeo,  succeeded.^  The 
dilapidations  from  religious  persecution  were  repaired  ;  Somnath, 
renowned  as  Delphos  of  old,  rose  from  its  ruins,  and  the  kingdom 

1  [Ferishta  i.  61.] 

2  He  ruled  from  S.  1150  to  1201  [a.d.  1094-1143].  It  was  his  court  that 
was  visited  by  EI  Edrisi,  commonly  called  the  Nubian  geographer,  who 
particularly  describes  this  ijrince  as  following  the  tenets  of  Buddha.  [He 
was  probably  not  a  Jain  {BG,  i.  Part  i.  179).] 

*  [The  Gujarat  account  of  the  campaign  is  different  (BG,  i.  Part  i.  184  f.).] 

*  [Kumarapala  made  many  benefactions  to  the  Jains  {Ibid.  i.  Part  i. 
190  f.).] 

*  [Ajayapala  succeeded  Kumarapala.  BhimaIl.(A.D.  1179-1242),  called 
Bholo,  '  the  simpleton,'  was  the  last  of  the  Ghaulukya  dynasty,  which  was 
succeeded  by  that  of  the  \'aghelas  (1219-1304).  Visaladeva  reigned  a.d. 
1243-61.     See  a  full  account.  Ibid.  194  ff.] 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

of  the  Balakaraes  was  attaining  its  pristine  magnificence,  when, 
under  the  fourth  prince,  Karandeva,  the  angel  of  destruction 
appeared  in  the  shape  of  Alau-d-din,  and  the  kingdom  of  Anhilw^ra 
was  annihilated.  The  lieutenants  of  the  Tatar  despot  of  Delhi 
let  loose  the  spirit  of  intolerance  and  avarice  on  the  rich  cities 
and  fertile  plains  of  Gujarat  and  Saurashtra.  In  contempt  of 
their  faith,  the  altar  of  an  Islamite  Darvesh  was  placed  in  contact 
with  the  shrine  of  Adinath,  on  the  [99]  most  accessible  of  their 
sacred  mounts  :  ^  the  statues  of  Buddha  [the  Jain  Tirthankaras] 
were  thrown  down,  and  the  books  containing  the  mysteries  of 
their  faith  suffered  the  same  fate  as  the  Alexandrian  library. 
The  walls  of  Anhilwara  were  demolished  ;  its  foundations  ex- 
cavated, and  again  filled  up  with  the  fragments  of  their  ancient 
temples.^ 

The  remnants  of  the  Solanki  dynasty  were  scattered  over  the 
land,  and  this  portion  of  India  remained  for  upwards  of  a  century 
without  any  paramount  head,  until,  by  a  singular  dispensation 
of  Providence,  its  splendour  was  renovated,  and  its  foundations 
rebuilt,  by  an  adventurer  of  the  same  race  from  which  the  Agni- 
kulas  were  originally  converts,  though  Saharan  the  Tak  hid  his 
name  and  his  tribe  under  his  new  epithet  of  Zafar  Khan,  and  as 
Muzaffar  ascended  the  throne  of  Gujarat,  which  he  left  to  his  son. 
This  son  was  Ahmad,  who  founded  Ahmadabad,  whose  most 
splendid  edifices  were  built  from  the  ancient  cities  around  it.* 

Baghels. — Though  the  stem  of  the  Solankis  was  thus  uprooted, 
yet  was  it  not  before  many  of  its  branches  (Sakha),  like  their  own 
indigenous  bar-tree,  had  fixed  themselves  in  other  soils.  The 
most  conspicuous  of  these  is  the  Baghela  *  family,  which  gave  its 

1  Satranjaya.     [IGI,  xix.  361  ff.] 

^  In  1822  I  made  a  journey  to  explore  the  remains  of  antiquity  in  Sau- 
rashtra. I  discovered  a  ruined  suburb  of  the  ancient  Patan  stil]  bearing  the 
name  of  Anhilwara,  the  Nahrwara,  which  D'Anville  had  "fort  a  cceur  de 
retrouver."  I  meditate  a  separate  account  of  this  kingdom,  and  the 
dynasties  which  governed  it. 

*  [Zafar  Khan,  son  of  Saharan  of  the  Tank  tribe  of  Rajputs,  embraced 
Islam,  and  became  viceroy  of  Gujarat.  According  to  Ferishta,  he  threw 
off  his  allegiance  to  Delhi  in  1396,  or  rather  maintained  a  nominal  allegiance 
till  1403.  Ahmad  was  grandson,  not  son,  of  Muzaffar.  (Ferishta  iv.  2  f. ; 
Bayley,  Dynasties  of  Gujarat,  67  ff.  ;    BG,  i.  Part  i.  232  f.).] 

*  The  name  of  this  subdivision  is  from  Bagh  Rao,  the  son  of  Siddharaja  ; 
though  the  bards  have  another  tradition  for  its  origin.  [They  take  their 
name  from  the  village  Vaghela  near  Anhilwara  {BG,  i.  Part  i.  198).] 


THE  CHALUKYAS  AND  PARIHARAS  119 

name  to  an  entire  division  of  Hindustan  ;  and  Bagtielkhand  lias 
now  been  ruled  for  many  centuries  by  the  descendants  of  Siddha- 
raja. 

Besides  Bandhugarh,  tliere  are  minor  cliieftainsliips  still  in 
Gujarat  of  the  Baghela  tribe.  Of  these,  Pethapur  and  Tharad 
are  the  most  conspicuous.  One  of  the  chieftains  of  the  second 
class  in  Mewar  is  a  Solanki,  and  traces  his  line  immediately  from 
Siddharaja  :  this  is  the  chief  of  Rupnagar,^  whose  stronghold  com- 
mands one  of  the  passes  leading  to  Marwar,  and  whose  family 
annals  would  furnish  a  fine  picture  of  the  state  of  border-feuds. 
Few  of  them,  till  of  late  years,  have  died  natural  deaths. 

The  Solanki  is  divided  into  sixteen  branches  [100]. 

1.  Baghela — Raja   of  Baghelkhand  (capital  Bandhugarh), 

Raos  of  Pitapur,  Tharad,  and  Adalaj,  etc. 

2.  Birpura — Rao  of  Lunawara. 

3.  Bahala — Kalyanpur  in  Mewar,  styled  Rao,  but  serving 

the  chief  of  Salumbar. 

'     ^  ,  ^  ,     oil"  Baru,  Tekra,  and  Chahir,  in  Jaisalmer. 

5.  Kalacha  ^  J 

6.  Langaha — ^Muslims  about  Multan. 

7.  Togra— -Muslims  in  the  Panjnad. 

8.  Brika —         ,,  „ 

9.  Surki — In  Deccan. 

10.  Sarwaria  ' — Girnar  in  Saurashtra. 

11.  Raka — Toda  in  Jaipur. 

12.  Ranakia — Desuri  in  Mewar. 

13.  Kharara — Alota  and  Jawara,  in  Malwa. 

14.  Tantia — Chandbhar  Sakanbari.* 

15.  Almecha — No  land. 

16.  Kalamor — Gujarat.^ 

Pratihara   or  Parihara. — Of  this,  the   last  and  least  of  _the 

^  I  knew  this  chieftain  well,  and  a  very  good  specimen  he  is  of  the  race. 
He  is  in  possession  of  the  famous  war-shell  of  Jai  Singh,  which  is  an  heirloom. 
^  Famous  robbers  in  the  deserts,  known  as  the  Malduts. 
'  Celebrated  in  traditional  history. 

*  Desperate  robbers.  I  saw  this  place  fired  and  levelled  in  1807,  when 
the  noted  Karim  Pindari  was  made  prisoner  by  Sindhia.  It  afterwards 
cost  some  British  blood  in  1817. 

*  [For  another  list  see  Census  Report,  Eajputana,  1911,  i.  256.] 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Agnikulas,  we  have  not  much  to  say.  The  Pariharas  never 
acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  history  of  Rajasthan.  They  are 
always  discovered  in  a  subordinate  capacity,  acting  in  feudal 
subjection  to  the  Tuars  of  Delhi  or  the  Chauhans  of  Aimer  ;  and 
the  brightest  page  of  their  history  is  the  record  of  an  abortive 
attemi^t  of  Nahar  Rao  to  maintain  his  independence  against 
Prithwiraja.  Though  a  failure,  it  has  immortalized  his  name, 
and  given  to  the  scene  of  action,^  one  of  the  passes  of  the  Aravalli, 
a  merited  celebrity.  Mandor  ^  (classically  Maddodara)  was  the 
capital  of  the  Parihars,  and  was  the  chief  city  of  Marwar  which 
owned  the  sway  of  this  tribe  prior  to  the  invasion  and  settlement 
of  the  Rathors.  It  is  placed  five  miles  northward  of  the  modern 
[101]  Jodhpur,  and  preserves  some  specimens  of  the  ancient  Pali 
character,  fragments  of  sculpture  and  Jain  temples. 

The  Rathor  emigrant  princes  of  Kanauj  found  an  asylum  with 
the  Parihars.  They  repaid  it  by  treachery,  and  Chonda,  a  name 
celebrated  in  the  Rathor  annals,  dispossessed  the  last  of  the 
Parihars,  and  pitched  the  flag  of  the  Rathors  on  the  battlements 
of  Mandor.  The  power  of  the  Parihars  had,  however,  been  much 
reduced  previously  by  the  princes  of  Mewar,  who  not  only  ab- 
stracted much  territory  from  them,  but  assumed  the  title  of  its 
princes— Rana.^ 

The  Parihara  is  scattered  over  Rajasthan,  but  I  am  unaware 
of  the  existence  of  any  independent  chieftainship  there.  At  the 
confluence  of  the  Kuhari,  the  Sind,  and  the  Chambal,  there  is  a 
colony  of  this  race,  which  has  given  its  name  to  a  commune  of 
twenty-four  villages,  besides  hamlets,  situated  amidst  the  ravines 
of  these  streams.  They  were  nominally  subjects  of  Sindhia  ; 
but  it  was  deemed  requisite  for  the  line  of  defence  along  the 
Chambal  that  it  should  be  included  within  the  British  demarca- 
tion, by  which  we  incorporated  with  our  rule  the  most  notorious 
body  of  thieves  in  the  annals  of  Thug  history. 

The  Parihars  had  twelve  subdivisions,  of  which  the  chief  were 

^  Though  now  desolate,  the  walls  of  this  fortress  attest  its  antiquity, 
and  it  is  a  work  that  could  not  be  undertaken  in  this  degenerate  age.  The 
remains  of  it  bring  to  mind  those  of  Volterra  or  Cortona,  and  other  ancient 
cities  of  Tuscany  :  enormous  squared  masses  of  stone  without  any  cement. 
[For  a  full  account  of  Mandor,  see  Ersldne  iii.  ^.196  ff.] 

*  This  Avas  in  the  thirteenth  century  [a.d.  1381],  whc:i  Mandor  was  cap- 
tured, and  its  prince  slain,  by  the  Rawal  of  Chitor. 


THE  CHAWARAS  OR  CHAURAS  121 

the  Indha  and  Sindhal  :  a  few  of  both  are  still  to  be  found  about 
the  banks  of  the  Luni.^ 

Chawara  or  Chaura. — This  tribe  was  once  renowned  in  the 
history  of  India,  though  its  name  is  now  scarcely  kno\^Ti,  or  only 
in  the  chronicles  of  the  bard.  Of  its  origin  we  are  in  ignorance. 
It  belongs  neither  to  the  Solar  nor  Lunar  race,  and  consequently 
v/e  iTiay  presume  it  to  be  of  Scythic  origin.^  The  name  is  un- 
known in  Hindustan,  and  is  confined,  with  many  others  originat- 
ing from  beyond  the  Indus,  to  the  peninsula  of  Saurashtra.  If 
foreign  to  India  proper,  its  establishment  must  have  been  at  a 
remote  period,  as  we  find  individuals  of  it  intermarrying  with  the 
Suryavansa  ancestry  of  the  present  princes  of  Mewar,  when  this 
family  were  the  lords  of  Valabhi. 

The  capital  of  the  Chawaras  was  the  insular  Deobandar,  on 
the  coast  of  Saurashtra,  and  the  celebrated  temple  of  Sonmath, 
with  many  others  on  this  coast,  dedicated  to  Balnath,  or  the  sun, 
is  attributed  to  this  tribe  of  the  Sauras,*  or  [102]  worshippers  of 
the  sun  ;  most  probably  the  generic  name  of  the  tribe  as  well  as 
of  the  peninsula.* 

By  a  natural  catastrophe,  or  as  the  Hindu  superstitious 
chroniclers  will  have  it,  as  a  punishment  for  the  piracies  of  the 
prince  of  Deo,  the  element  whose  privilege  he  abused  rose  and 
overwhelmed  his  capital.  As  all  this  coast  is  very  low,  such  an 
occurrence  is  not  improbable  ;  though  the  abandonment  of  Deo 
might  have  been  compelled  by  the  irruptions  of  the  Arabians, 
who  at  this  period  carried  on  a  trade  with  these  parts,  and  the 
plunder  of  some  of  their  vessels  may  have  brought  this  punisli- 
meut  on  the  Chawaras.     That  it  was  owing  to  some  such  political 

^  [Six  sub-clans  are  named  in  Census  Report,  Bajputana,  1911,  i.  255.] 

"  [They  have  been  supposed  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Pramars,  but  they  arc 
certainly  of  Gurjara  origin  {IA,\y.  145  f. ;  BG,i^.  Parti.  124,  488  f. ;  i.  Parti. 
149  ff.).  According  to  Wilberforce-Bell,  the  word  Chaura  in  Gujarat  means 
'  robber  '  {History  of  Katliiawad,  51).] 

'  The  "ZvpoL  of  the  Greek  writers  on  Bactria,  the  boundary  of  the  Bactrian 
kingdom  under  ApoUodotus.  On  this  see  the  paper  on  Grecian  medals  in 
the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i. 

*  Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  south  and  west  of  India  cannot  pro- 
nounce the  ch,  and  invariably  substitute  the  s.  Thus  the  noted  Pindari 
leader  Chitu  was  always  called  Situ  by  the  Deccanis.  Again,  with  many 
of  the  tribes  of  the  desert,  the  s  is  alike  a  stumbHng-block,  which  causes 
many  singular  mistakes,  when  Jaisalmer,  the  '  hill  of  Jaisal,'  becomes 
Jahlmer,  '  the  hiU  of  fools.' 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

catastrophe,  we  have  additional  gxounds  for  beh'ef  from  the  annals 
of  Mewar,  which  state  that  its  princes  inducted  the  Chawaras  into 
the  seats  of  the  power  they  abandoned  on  the  continent  and  penin- 
sula of  Saurashtra. 

At  all  events,  the  prince  of  Deo  laid  the  foundation  of  Anhil- 
wara  Patan  in  S.  802  (a.d.  74.6),  which  henceforth  became  the 
capital  city  of  this  portion  of  India,  in  lieu  of  Valabhipura,  which 
gave  the  title  of  Balakaraes  to  its  princes,  the  Balhara  of  the 
earlier  Arabian  travellers,  and  following  them,  the  geographers 
of  Europe. "^ 

Vana  Raja  (or,  in  the  dialects,  Banraj)  was  this  founder,  and 
his  dynasty  ruled  for  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  years,  when, 
as  related  in  the  sketch  of  the  Solanki  tribe,  Bhojraj,  the  seventh 
from  the  founder,  was  deposed  by  his  nephew.^  It  was  during 
this  dynasty  that  the  Arabian  travellers  ^  visited  this  court,  of 
which  they  have  left  but  a  confused  picture.  We  are  not,  how- 
ever, altogether  in  darkness  regarding  the  Chawara  race,  as  in 
the  Khuman  Raesa,  one  of  the  chronicles  of  Mewar,  mention 
is  made  of  the  auxiliaries  under  a  leader  named  Chatansi,  in 
the  defence  of  Chitor  against  the  first  attack  on  record  of  the 
Muhammadans . 

When  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  invaded  Saurashtra  and  captured 
its  capital,  Anhilwara,  he  deposed  its  jDrince,  and  placed  upon  the 
throne,  according  to  Ferishta,  a  prince  of  the  former  dynasty, 
renowned  for  his  ancient  line  and  purity  of  blood,  and  who  is 
styled  Dabichalima  ;  a  name  which  has  jiuzzled  all  European 
commentators.  Now  the  Dabhi  was  a  celebrated  tribe,  said  by 
some  to  be  a  branch  of  the  [103]  Chawara,  and  this  therefore  may 
be  a  compound  of  Dabhi  Chawara,  or  the  Chaurasima,  by  some 
called  a  branch  of  the  ancient  Yadus.* 

^  [The  Balhara  of  Arab  travellers  of  the  tenth  century  were  the  Rash- 
trakuta  dynasty  of  Malkhed,  Balhara  teing  a  corruption  of  Vallabha- 
raja,  Vallabha  being  the  royal  title  {BG,  i.  Part  ii.  209).] 

^  [Vanaraja  reigned  from  a.d.  765  to  780,  and  the  dynasty  is  said  to  have 
lasted  196  years,  but  the  evidence  is  still  incomplete.  The  name  of  Bhojraj 
does  not  appear  in  the  most  recent  lists  [BG,  i.  Part  i.  152  ff.).] 

^  Relations  anciennes  des  Voyageurs,  par  Renaudot. 

*  [The  true  form  of  this  puzzling  term  seems  to  be  Dabshalim,  whose 
story  is  told  in  EUiot-Dowson  (ii.  500  ff.,  iv.  183).  Much  of  the  account  is 
mere  tradition,  but  it  has  been  plausibly  suggested  that  when  Bhima  I.,  the 
Chaulukya  king  of  Anhilwara  was  defeated  by  Mahmud  of  Ghazni  in  a.d. 


THE  TAKS  or  TAKSHAKS  123 

This  ancient  connexion  between  the  Surya\ansi  cliiefs  and  the 
Chawaras,  or  Sauras,  of  Saurashtra,  is  still  maintained  after  a 
lapse  of  more  than  one  thousand  years  ;  for  although  an  alliance 
with  the  Rana's  family  is  deemed  the  highest  honour  that  a  Hindu 
prince  can  obtain,  as  being  the  first  in  rank  in  Rajasthan,  yet  is 
the  humble  Chawara  sought  out,  even  at  the  foot  of  fortune's 
ladder,  whence  to  carry  on  the  blood  of  Rama.  The  present 
heir-apparent  of  a  line  of  '  one  hundred  kings,'  the  prince  Jawan 
Singh  [1828-38],  is  the  offspring  of  a  Chawara  mother,  the  daughter 
of  a  petty  chieftain  of  Gujarat. 

It  were  vain  to  give  any  account  of  the  present  stale  of  the 
families  bearing  this  name.  They  must  depend  upon  the  fame 
of  past  days  ;  to  this  we  leave  them. 

Tak  or  Takshak. — Takshak  appears  to  be  the  generic  term  of 
the  race  from  which  the  various  Scythic  tribes,  the  early  invaders 
of  India,  branched  off.  It  appears  of  more  ancient  application 
than  Getae,  which  was  the  parent  of  innumerable  sakha.  It 
might  not  be  judicious  to  separate  them,  though  it  would  be 
speculative  to  say  which  was  the  primitive  title  of  the  races  called 
Scythic,  after  their  country,  Sakatai  or  Sakadwipa,  the  land  of 
the  great  Getae. 

Abulghazi  makes  Taunak^  the  son  of  Turk  or  Targetai,  who 
appears  to  be  the  Turushka  of  the  Puranas,  the  Tukyuks  of  the 
Chinese  historians,  the  nomadic  Tokhari  of  Strabo,  who  aided  to 
overturn  the  Greek  kingdom  of  Bactria,  and  gave  their  name  to 

1024,  the  latter  may  have  appointed  Durlabha,  uncle  of  Bhima,  to  keep 
order  in  Gujarat,  and  that  the  two  Dabshalims  may  be  identified  with 
Durlabha  and  his  son  [BG,  i.  Part  i.  168).  Also  see  Ferishta  i.  76  ;  Bayley, 
Muhammadan  Dynasties  of  Gujarat,  32  ff.] 

^  Abulghazi  [Hist,  of  the  Turks,  Moguls,  and  Tartars,  1730,  i.  5  f .]  says, 
when  Noah  left  the  ark  he  divided  the  earth  amongst  his  three  sons  :  Shem 
had  Iran  :  Japhet,  the  country  of  '  Kuttup  Shamach,'  the  name  of  the 
regions  between  the  Caspian  Sea  and  India.  There  he  Hved  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  He  left  eight  sons,  of  whom  Turk  was  the  elder  and  the 
seventh  Camari,  supposed  the  Gomer  of  Scripture.  Turk  had  four  sons  ; 
the  eldest  of  whom  was  Taunak,  the  fourth  from  whom  was  Mogul,  a  cor- 
ruption of  Mongol,  signifying  sad,  whose  successors  made  the  Jaxartes  their 
winter  abode.  [The  word  means  '  brave  '  (Howorth,  Hist,  of  the  Mongols, 
i.  27).]  Under  his  reign  no  trace  of  the  true  rehgion  remained  :  idolatry 
reigned  everywhere.  Aghuz  Khan  succeeded.  The  ancient  Cimbri,  who 
went  west  with  Odin's  horde  of  Jats,  Chattis,  and  Su ,  were  probably  the  tribes 
descended  from  Camari,  the  son  of  Turk. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

the  grand  division  of  Asia,  Tokharistan  ^  or  Turkistan  :  and  there 
is  every  appearance  of  that  singular  race,  tlie  Tajik,*  still 
scattered  over  these  [104]  regions,  and  whose  history  appears  a 
mystery,  being  the  descendants  of  the  Takshak. 

It  has  been  already  observed,  that  ancient  inscriptions  in  t)ie 
Pali  or  Buddhist  character  have  been  discovered  in  various  parts 
of  Rajasthan,  of  the  race  called  Tasta,  Takshak,  and  Tak,  relating 
to  the  tribes,  the  Mori  [or  Maurya],  Pramara,  their  descendants. 
Naga  and  Takshak  are  synonymous  appellations  in  Sanskrit  for 
the  snake,  and  the  Takshak  is  the  celebrated  Nagvansa  of  the 
early  heroic  history  of  India.  The  Mahabharata  describes^  in  its 
usual  allegorical  style,  the  wars  between  the  Pandavas  of  Indra- 
prastha  and  the  Takshaks  of  the  north.  The  assassination  of 
Parikshita  by  the  Takshak,  and  the  exterminating  warfare  carried 
on  against  them  by  his  son  and  successor,  Janamejaya,  who  at 
last  compelled  them  to  sign  tributary  engagements,  divested  of 
its  allegory,'  is  plain  historical  fact. 

^  Tacash  continued  to  be  a  proper  name  with  the  great  Khans  of 
Kharizm  (Chorasmia)  until  they  adopted  the  faith  of  Muhammad.  The 
father  of  Jala],  the  foe  of  Jenghiz  Khan,  was  named  Tacash.  Tashkent  on 
the  .Jaxartes,  the  cajDital  of  Turkistan,  may  be  derived  from  the  name  of  the 
race.  Bayer  says,  "  Tocharistan  was  the  region  of  the  Tochari,  who  were 
•  the  ancient  Tijxapoi  (Tochari), or  Taxcipot(TachaA'oi)."  Amraianus  Marcellinus 
says,  "  many  nations  obey  the  Bactrians,  whom  the  Tochari  surjoass " 
(Hist.  Beg.  Bad.  p.  7). 

^  This  singular  race,  the  Tajiks,  are  repeatedly  mentioned  by  Mr.  Elpliin- 
stone  in  his  admirable  account  of  the  kingdom  of  Kabul.  They  are  also 
particularly  noticed  as  monopoHsing  the  commercial  transactions  of  the 
kingdom  of  Bokhara,  in  that  interesting  work.  Voyage  (TOrenbourg  a  Bokhara, 
the  map  accompanying  whicli,  for  the  first  time,  lays  down  authentically  the 
sources  and  course  of  the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes.  [The  term  Tajik  means  the 
settled  population,  as  opposed  to  the  Turks  or  tent-dM'ellers.  It  is  the  same 
word  as  Tazi, '  Arab,'  still  surviving  in  the  name  of  the  Persian  greyhound, 
which  was  apparently  introduced  by  the  Arabs.  Sykes  (Hist,  of  Persia,  ii. 
153,  note)  and  Skrine-Ross  {The  Heart  of  Asia,  3,  364  note)  state  that  the 
Tajiks  represent  the  Iranian  branch  of  the  Aryans.] 

3  The  Mahabharata  describes  this  warfare  against  the  snakes  literally  : 
of  which,  in  one  attack,  he  seized  and  made  a  burnt-oft'ering  (hom)  of  twenty 
thousand.  It  is  surprising  that  the  Hindu  will  accept  these  things  hterally. 
It  might  be  said  he  had  but  a  choice  of  difficulties,  and  that  it  would  be  as 
impossible  for  any  human  being  to  make  the  barbarous  sacrifice  of  twenty 
thousand  of  his  species,  as  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  twenty  thousand 
snakes  for  the  purpose.  The  author's  knowledge  of  what  barbarity  will 
inflict  leaves  the  fact  of  the  human  sacrifice,  though  not  perhaps  to  this 
extent,  not  even  improbable.     In  1811  his  duties  called  him  to  a  survey 


THE  TAKS  OR  TAKSHAKS  125 

When  Alexander  invaded  India,  he  found  the  Paraitakai,  the 
mountain  (pahar)  Tak,  inhabiting  the  Paropamisos  range  ;  nor 
is  it  by  any  means  unlikely  that  Taxiles,^  the  ally  of  the  Mace- 
donian king,  was  the  chief  (es)  of  the  Taks  ;  and  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Bhatti  princes  of  Jaisalmer,  when  driven  from 
Zabulistan,  they  dispossessed  the  Taks  on  the  Indus,  and  estab- 
lished themselves  in  their  land,  the  capital  of  which  was  called 
Salivahanpura  ;  and  as  the  date  of  this  event  is  given  as  3008  of 
the  Yudhishthira  era,  it  is  by  no  means  unlikely  that  Salivahana, 
or  Salbhan  (who  was  a  Takshak),  the  conqueror  of  the  Tuar 
Vikrama,  was  of  the  very  family  dispossessed  by  the  Bhattis, 
who  compelled  them  to  migrate  to  the  south. 

The  calculated  period  of  the  invasion  of  the  Takshaks,  or 
.  Nagvansa,  under  Sheshnag,  is  about  six  or  seven  centuries  before 
the  Christian  era,  at  which  very  [105]  period  the  Scythic  invasion 
of  Egypt  and  Syria,  "  by  the  sons  of  Togarmah  riding  on  horses  " 
(the  Aswas,  or  Asi),  is  alike  recorded  by  tlie  prophet  Ezekiel  and 
Diodorus.  The  Abu  Mahatma  calls  the  Takshaks  "  the  sons  of 
Himachal,"  all  evincing  Scythic  descent  ;  and  it  was  only  eight 
reigns  anterior  to  this  change  in  the  Lunar  dynasties  of  India, 
that  Parsvanath,  the  twenty-third  Buddha  [Jain  Tirthankara], 
introduced  his  tenets  into  India,  and  fixed  his  abode  in  the  holy 
mount  Sarnet.^ 

amidst  the  ravines  of  the  Chambal,  the  tract  called  Gujargarh,  a  district 
inhabited  by  the  Gujar  tribe.  Turbulent  and  independent,  like  the  sons  of 
Esau,  their  hand  against  every  man  and  every  man's  hand  against  them, 
their  nominal  prince,  SurajmaU,  the  Jat  chief  of  Bharatpur,  pursued  exactlj' 
the  same  plan  towards  the  population  of  these  villages,  whom  they  captured 
in  a  night  attack,  that  Janamejaya  did  to  the  Takshaks  :  he  threw  them 
into  pits  with  combustibles,  and  actually  thus  consumed  them  !  This 
occurred  not  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago. 

^  Arrian  says  that  his  name  was  Omphis  [Ambhi],  and  that  his  father 
dying  at  this  time,  he  did  homage  to  Alexander,  who  invested  him  with  the 
title  and  estates  of  his  father  Taxiles.  Hence,  perhaps  (from  Tak),  the  name 
of  the  Indus,  Attak ;  [?]  not  Atak,  or  '  forbidden,'  according  to  modern 
signification,  and  which  has  only  been  given  since  the  Muhammadan  religion 
for  a  time  made  it  the  boundary  between  the  two  faiths.  [All  these  specu- 
lations are  valueless.] 

2  In  Bihar,  during  the  reign  of  Pradyota,  the  successor  of  Ripunjaya. 
Parsva's  symbol  is  the  serpent  of  Takshak.  His  doctrines  spread  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  India,  and  the  princes  of  Valabhipura  of  Ma'ndor  and 
Anhilwara  all  held  to  the  tenets  of  Buddha.  [As  usual,  Jains  are  con- 
founded with  Buddhists.  There  is  no  reason  to  beheve  that  the  Nagas,  a 
serpent-wor.shipping  tribe,  were  not  indigenous  in  India.] 


126  HISTORY  OP  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Enough  of  the  ancient  history  of  the  Tak  ;  we  wiU  now  descend 
to  more  modern  times,  on  which  we  shall  be  brief.  We  have 
already  mentioned  the  Takshak  Mori  [or  Maurya]  as  being  lords 
of  Chitor  from  a  very  early  period  ;  and  but  a  few  generations 
after  the  Guhilots  supplanted  the  Moris,  this  palladium  of  Hindu 
liberty  was  assailed  by  the  arms  of  Islam.  We  find  amongst  the 
numerous  defenders  who  appear  to  have  considered  the  cause  of 
Chitor  their  own,  "  the  Tak  from  Asirgarh."  ^  This  race  appears  to 
liave  retained  possession  of  Asir  for  at  least  two  centuries  after  this 
event,  as  its  chieftain  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  leaders  in 
the  array  of  Prithwiraja.  In  the  poems  of  Chand  he  is  called  the 
"  standard-bearer,  Tak  of  Asir."  ^ 

This  ancient  race,  the  foe  of  Janamejaya  and  the  friend  of 
Alexander,  closed  its  career  in  a  blaze  of  splendour.  The  celeb-, 
rity  of  the  kings  of  Gujarat  will  make  amends  for  the  obscurity 
of  the  Taks  of  modern  times,  of  whom  a  dynasty  of  fourteen  kings 
followed  each  other  in  succession,  commencing  and  ending  with 
the  proud  title  of  Muzaffar.  It  was  in  the  reign  of  Muhammad,^ 
son  of  the  first  Tughlak,  that  an  accident  to  his  nephew  Firoz 
proved  the  dawn  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Tak  ;  purchased,  however, 
with  the  change  of  name  and  religion.  Saharan  the  Tak  was  the 
lirst  apostate  of  his  line,  who,  under  the  name  of  Wajihu-1-mulk, 
concealed  both  his  origin  and  tribe.  His  son,  Zafar  Khan,  was 
raised  by  his  patron  Firoz  to  the  government  of  Gujarat,  about  the 
period  when  Timur  invaded  India.  Zafar  availed  himself  of  the 
weakness  of  his  master  and  the  distraction  of  the  times,  and 
mounted  the  throne  of  Gujarat  under  the  name  of  [106]  Muzaffar.* 
He  was  assassinated  by  the  hand  of  his  grandson,  Ahmad,  who 
changed  the  ancient  capital,  Anhilwara,  for  the  city  founded  by 
himself,  and  called  Ahmadabad,  one  of  the  most  splendid  in  the 
east.     With  the  apostasy  of  the  Tak,^  the  name  appears  to  have 

^  Tliis  is  the  celebrated  fortress  in  Khandesh,  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
British. 

2  In  the  list  of  the  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Kanauj  he  is  mentioned  by 
name,  as  "  Chatto  the  Tak."  ^  He  reigned  from  a.d.  1324  to  1351. 

*  'The  victorious'  [see  p.  118  above]. 

''  Tlie  Miratu-l-Sikandari  gives  the  ancestry  of  the  apostate  for  twenty- 
three  generations  ;  the  last  of  whom  was  Sesh,  the  same  which  introduced 
the  Nagvansa,  seven  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  into  India.  The 
author  of  the  work  gives  the  origin  of  the  name  of  Tak,  or  Tank,  frojn  tarka, 
'  expulsion,'  from  his  caste,  which  he  styles  Khatri,  evincing  his  ignorance  of 
this  ancient  race. 


THE  JATS  127 

been  obliterated  from  the  tribes  of  Rajasthan  ;  nor  has  my 
search  ever  discovered  one  of  this  name  now  existing. 

Jat,  Jat. — In  all  the  ancient  catalogues  of  the  thirty-six  royal 
races  of  India  the  Jat  has  a  place,  though  by  none  is  he  ever 
styled  '  Rajput '  ;  nor  am  I  aware  of  any  instance  of  a  Rajput's 
intermarriage  with  a  Jat.^  It  is  a  name  widely  disseminated 
over  India,  though  it  does  not  now  occupy  a  very  elevated  place 
amongst  the  inhabitants,  belonging  chiefly  to  the  agricultural 
classes. 

In  the  Panjab  they  still  retain  their  ancient  name  of  Jat.  On 
the  Jumna  and  Ganges  they  are  styled  Jats,  of  whom  the  chief 
of  Bharatpur  is  the  most  conspicuous.  On  the  Indus  and  in 
Saurashtra  they  are  termed  Jats.  The  greater  portion  of  tlie 
husbandmen  in  Rajasthan  are  Jats  ;  and  there  are  numerous 
tribes  beyond  the  Indus,  now  proselytes  to  the  Muhammadan 
religion,  who  derive  their  origin  from  this  class. 

Of  its  ancient  history  sufficient  has  been  already  said.  We 
will  merely  add,  that  the  kingdom  of  the  great  Getae,  whose 
capital  was  on  the  Jaxartes,  preserved  its  integrity  and  name 
from  the  period  of  Cyrus  to  the  fourteenth  century,  when  it  was 
converted  from  idolatry  to  the  faith  of  Islam.  Herodotus  [iv. 
93-4]  informs  us  that  the  Getae  were  theists  and  held  the  tenet 
of  the  soul's  immortality  ;  and  De  Guignes,^  from  Chinese  authori- 
ties, asserts  that  at  a  very  early  period  they  had  embraced  the 
religion  of  Fo  or  Buddha. 

The  traditions  of  the  Jats  claim  the  regions  west  of  the  Indus 
as  the  cradle  of  the  race,  and  make  them  of  Yadu  extraction  ; 
thus  corroborating  the  annals  of  the  Yadus,  whieli  state  their 
migration  from  Zabulistan,  and  almost  inducing  us  to  [107]  dis- 
pense with  the  descent  of  this  tribe  from  Krishna,  and  to  pro- 

1  [Thougli  apparently  there  is  no  legal  connubium  between  Jats  and 
Rajputs,  the  two  tribes  are  closely  connected,  and  it  has  been  suggested 
that  both  had  their  origin  in  invaders  from  Central  Asia,  the  leaders  becoming 
Rajputs,  the  lower  orders  Jat  peasants.  The  author,  at  the  close  of  Vol.  II., 
gives  an  inscription  recording  the  marriage  of  a  Jat  with  a  Yadava  princess.] 

^  "  The  superiority  of  the  Chinese  over  the  Turks  caused  the  great  Khan 
to  turn  his  arms  against  the  Nomadic  Getae  of  Mawaru-l-nahr  (Transoxiana), 
descended  fi-om  the  Yueh-chi,  and  bred  on  the  Jihun  or  Oxus,  whence  they 
had  extended  themselves  along  the  Indus  and  even  Ganges,  and  are  there 
yet  found.  These  Getae  had  embraced  the  religion  of  Fo  "  {Hist.  Gen. 
des  Huns,  tom.  i.  p.  375). 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

nounee  it  an  important  colony  of  the  Yueh-chi,  Yuti,  or  Jats. 
Of  the  first  migration  from  Central  Asia  of  this  race  within  the 
Indus  we  have  no  record  ;  it  might  have  been  simultaneous  with 
the  Takshak,  from  the  wars  of  Cyrus  or  his  ancestors. 

It  has  been  already  remarked  that  the  Jat  divided  with  the 
Takshak  the  claim  of  being  the  parent  name  of  the  various  tribes 
called  Scythic,  invaders  of  India  ;  and  there  is  now  before  the 
author  an  inscription  of  the  fifth  century  applying  both  epithets 
to  the  same  prince/  who  is  invested  moreover  with  the  Scythic 
quality  of  worshipping  the  sun.  It  states,  likewise,  that  the 
mother  of  this  Jat  prince  was  of  Yadu  race  :  strengthening  their 
claims  to  a  niche  amongst  the  thirty-six  Rajkulas,  as  well  as  their 
Yadu  descent. 

The  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  to  which  this  inscription 
belongs,  is  a  period  of  interest  in  Jat  history.  De  Guignes,  from 
original  authorities,  states  the  Yueh-chi  or  Jats  to  have  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  Panjab  in  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries, 
and  the  inscription  now  quoted  applies  to  a  prince  whose  capital 
is  styled  Salindrapura  in  these  regions  ;  and  doubtless  the  Saliva- 
hanpur  ^  where  the  Yadu  Bhattis  established  themselves  on  the 
expulsion  of  the  Tak. 

'^  "  To  my  foe,  salutation  !  This  foe  how  shall  I  describe  ?  Of  the  race 
of  Jat  Kathida,  whose  ancestor,  the  warrior  Takshak,  formed  the  garland 
on  the  neck  of  Mahadeva."  Though  this  is  a  figurative  allusion  to  the  snake 
necklace  of  the  father  of  creation,  yet  it  evidently  pointed  to  the  Jat's 
descent  from  the  Takshak.  But  enough  has  been  said  elsewhere  of  the 
snake  race,  the  parent  of  the  Scythic  tribes,  which  the  divine  Milton  seems 
to  have  taken  from  Diodorus's  account  of  the  mother  of  the  Scythae  : 
"  Woman  to  the  waist,  and  fair  ; 
But  ended  foul  in  many  a  scaly  fold  !  " 

Paradise  Lost,  Book  ii.  650  f. 

Whether  the  Jat  Kathida  is  the  Jat  or  Getae  of  Cathay  {da  being  the  mark 
of  the  genitive  case)  we  will  leav^e  to  conjecture  [?].  [Ney  Ehas  {History 
of  the  Moghuls  of  Central  Asia,  75)  suggests  that  the  theory  of  the  connexion 
between  Jats  and  Getae  was  largely  based  on  an  error  regarding  the  term 
jatah,  '  rascal,'  apphed  as  a  mark  of  reproach  to  the  Moguls  by  the 
Chagatai.] 

^  This  place  existed  in  the  twelfth  century  as  a  capital ;  since  an  in- 
scription of  Kamarpal,  prince  of  Anhilwara,  declares  that  this  monarch 
carried  his  conquests  "  even  to  Salpur."  There  is  Sialkot  in  Rennell's 
geography,  and  Wilford  mentions  "  Sangala,  a  famous  city  in  ruins,  sixty 
miles  west  by  north  of  Lahore,  situated  in  a  forest,  and  said  to  be  built  by 
Piiru.' 


THE  JATS  129 

How  much  earlier  than  this  the  Jat  penetrated  into  Rajasthan 
must  be  left  to  more  ancient  inscriptions  to  determine  :  suffice 
it  that  in  a.d.  440  we  find  him  in  power. ^ 

When  the  Yadu  was  expelled  from  Salivahanpura,  and  forced 
to  seek  refuge  [108]  across  the  Sutlej  among  the  Dahia  and  Johya 
Rajputs  of  the  Indian  desiert,  where  they  founded  their  first 
capital,  Derawar,  many  from  compulsion  embraced  the  Muham- 
madan  faith  ;  on  which  occasion  they  assumed  the  name  of  Jat,^ 
of  which  at  least  twenty  different  offsets  are  enumerated  in  the 
Yadu  chronicles. 

That  the  Jats  continued  as  a  powerful  community  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Indus  and  in  the  Panjab,  fully  five  centuries  after 
the  period  our  inscription  and  their  annals  illustrate,  we  have  the 
most  interesting  records  in  the  history  of  Mahmud,  the  conqueror 
of  India,  whose  progress  they  checked  in  a  manner  unprecedented 
in  the  annals  of  continental  warfare.  It  was  in  416  of  the  Hegira 
(a.d.  1026)  that  Mahmud  marched  an  army  against  the  Jats,  who 
had  harassed  and  insulted  him  on  the  return  from  his  last  expedi- 
tion against  Saurashtra.  The  interest  of  the  account  authorizes 
its  being  given  from  the  original. 

"  The  Jats  inhabited  the  country  on  the  borders  of  Multan, 
along  the  river  that  runs  by  the  mountains  of  Jud.*  When 
Mahmud  reached  Multan,  finding  the  Jat  country  defended  by 
great  rivers,  he  built  fifteen  hundred  boats,*  each  armed  with  six 
iron   spikes   projecting  from  their  prows,  to  prevent  their  being 

i  At  this  time  (a.d.  449)  the  Jut  brothers,  Hengist  and  Horsa,  led  a 
colony  from  Jutland  and  founded  the  kingdom  of  Kent  {qu.  Kantha,  '  a 
coast,'  in  Sanskrit,  as  m  Gothic  Konta  ?).  The  laws  they  there  introduced, 
more  especially  the  still  prevailing  one  of  gavelkind,  where  all  the  sons  share 
equally,  except  the  youngest  who  has  a  double  portion,  are  purely  Scythic, 
and  brought  by  the  original  Goth  from  the  Jaxartes.  Alaric  had  finished 
his  career,  and  Theodoric  and  Genseric  {ric,  '  king,'  in  Sanskrit  [?])  were 
carrying  their  arms  into  Spain  and  Africa.    [These  speculations  are  valueless.] 

2  Why  should  these  proselytes,  if  originally  Yadu,  assume  the  name  of 
Jat  or  Jat  ?  It  must  be  either  that  the  Yadus  were  themselves  the  Scythic 
Yuti  or  Yueh-chi,  or  that  the  branches  intermarried  with  the  Jats,  and' 
consequently  became  degraded  as  Yadus,  and  the  mixed  issue  bore  the  name 
of  the  mother. 

^  The  Jadu  ka  Dang,  '  or  hills  of  Yadu,'  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  this 
race  as  one  of  their  intermediate  points  of  halt  when  they  were  driven  from 
India  after  the  Mahabharata. 

*  Near  the  spot  where  Alexander  built  his  fleet,  which  navigated  to 
Babylon  thirteen  hundred  years  before. 

VOL.  I  K 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

boarded  by  the  enemy,  expert  in  this  kind  of  warfare.  In  each 
boat  he  placed  twenty  archers,  and  some  with  fire-balls  of  naphtha 
to  burn  the  Jat  fleet.  The  monarch  having  determined  on  their 
extirpation,  awaited  the  result  at  Multan.  The  Jats  sent  their 
wives,  children,  and  effects  to  Sind  Sagar,^  and  laimched  four 
thousand,  or,  as  others  say,  eight  thousand  boats  well  armed  to 
meet  the  Ghaznians.  A  terrible  conflict  ensued,  but  the  project- 
ing spikes  sunk  the  Jat  boats  while  others  were  set  on  fire.  Few 
escaped  from  this  scene  of  terror  ;  and  those  who  did,  met  with 
the  more  severe  fate  of  capti\'ity."  ^ 

Many  doubtless  did  escape  ;  and  it  is  most  probable  that  the 
Jat  communities,  on  whose  overthrow  the  State  of  Bikaner  was 
founded,  were  remnants  of  this  very  warfare  [109]. 

Not  long  after  this  event  the  original  empire  of  the  Getae  was 
overturned,  when  many  fugitives  found  a  refuge  in  India.  In 
1360  Togultash  Timur  was  the  great  Khan  of  the  Getae  nation  ; 
idolaters  even  to  this  period.  He  had  conquered  Khorasan,. 
invaded  Transoxiana  (whose  prince  fled,  but  whose  nephew. 
Amir  Timur,  averted  its  subjugation),  gained  the  friendship  of 
Togultash,  and  commanded  a  hundred  thousand  Getae  warriors. 
In  1369,  when  the  Getic  Klian  died,  such  was  the  ascendancy 
obtained  by  Timur  over  his  subjects,  that  the  Kuriltai,  or  general 
assembly,  transferred  the  title  of  Grand  Khan  from  the  Getic  to 
the  Chagatai  Timur.  In  1370  he  married  a  Getic  princess,  and 
added  Khokhand  and  Samarkand  to  his  patrimony,  Transoxiana. 
Rebellions  and  massacres  almost  depopulated  this  nursery  of 
mankind,  ere  the  Getae  abandoned  their  independence  ;  nor  was 
it  tUl  1388,  after  six  invasions,  in  which  he  burnt  their  towns, 
brought  away  their  wealth,  and  almost  annihilated  the  nation, 
that  he  felt  himself  secure.* 

^  Translated  by  Dow,  '  an  island.'  Sind  Sagar  is  one  of  the  Duabas  of 
the  Panjab.  I  have  compared  Dew's  translation  of  the  earlier  portion  of 
the  history  of  Ferishta  with  the  original,  and  it  is  infinitely  more  faithful 
than  the  world  gives  him  credit  for.  His  errors  are  most  considerable  in 
numerals  and  in  weights  and  measures  ;  and  it  is  owing  to  this  that  he  has 
made  the  captured  wealth  of  India  appear  so  incredible. 

^  Ferishta  vol.  i.  [The  translation  in  the  text  is  an  abstract  of  that  of 
Dow  (i.  72).  That  of  Briggs  (i.  81  f.)  is  more  accurate.  In  neither  version 
is  there  any  mention  of  the  Sind  Sagar.  Rose  (Glossary,  ii.  359)  discredits 
the  account  of  this  naval  engagement,  and  expresses  a  doubt  whether  the 
Jats  at  this  period  occupied  Jud  or  the  Salt  Ranges.] 

^  [By  the  '  Getae '  of  the  text  the  author  apparently  means  Mongols.] 


THE  JATS,  HUNS  131 

In  his  expedition  into  India,  having  overrun  great  part  of 
Europe,  "  taken  Moscow,  and  slain  the  soldiers  of  the  barbarous 
Urus/'  he  encountered  his  old  foes  "  the  Getae,  who  inhabited 
the  plains  of  Tohim,  where  he  put  two  thousand  to  the  syord, 
pursuing  them  into  the  desert  and  slaughtering  many  more  near 
the  Ghaggar."  -^ 

Still  the  Jat  maintained  himself  in  the  Panjab,  and  the  most 
powerful  and  independent  prince  of  India  at  this  day  is  the  Jat 
prince  of  Lahore,  holding  dominion  over  the  identical  regions 
where  the  Yueh-chi  colonized  in  the  fifth  century,  and  where  the 
Yadus,  driven  from  Ghazni,  established  themselves  on  the  ruins 
of  the  Taks.  The  Jat  cavalier  retains  a  portion  of  his  Scythic 
manners,  and  preserves  the  use  of  the  chakra  or  discus,  the  weapon 
of  the  Yadu  Krishna  in  the  remote  age  of  the  Bharat. 

Hun  or  Hiin. — Amongst  the  Scythic  tribes  who  have  secured 
for  themselves  a  niche  with  the  thirty-six  races  of  India,  is  the 
Hun.  At  what  period  this  race,  so  well  known  by  its  ravages 
and  settlement  in  Europe,  invaded  India,  we  know  not.^  Doubt- 
less it  was  in  the  society  of  many  others  yet  found  in  the  peninsula 
of  [110]  Saurashtra,  as  the  Kathi,  the  Bala,  the  Makwana,  etc. 
It  is,  however,  confined  to  the  genealogies  of  that  peninsula  ;  for 
although  we  have  mention  of  the  Hun  in  the  chronicles  and  in- 
scriptions of  India  at  a  very  early  period,  he  failed  to  obtain  a 
place  in  the  catalogue  of  the  northern  bards. 

The  earliest  notice  of  the  tribe  is  in  an  inscription  ^  recording 
the  power  of  a  prince  of  Bihar,  who,  amidst  his  other  conquests, 
"  humbled  the  pride  of  the  Hiins."  In  the  annals  of  the  early 
history  of  Mewar,  in  the  catalogue  of  princes  who  made  common 
cause  with  this  the  chief  of  all  the  Rajputs,  when  Chitor  was 
assailed  in  the  first  irruption  of  the  Muhammadans,  was  Angatsi, 

^  Abulghazi  vol.  ii.  chap.  16.  After  his  battle  with  Sultan  Mahmud  of 
Delhi,  Timur  gave  orders,  to  use  the  word  of  his  historian,  "  for  the  slaughter 
of  a  hundred  thousand  infidel  slaves.  The  great  mosque  was  fired,  and  the 
souls  of  the  infidels  were  sent  to  the  abj^ss  of  hell.  Towers  were  erected  of 
their  heads,  and  their  bodies  were  thrown  as  food  to  the  beasts  and  birds  of 
prey.  At  Mairta  the  infidel  Guebres  were  flayed  alive."  This  was  by  order 
of  Tamerlane,  to  whom  the  dramatic  historians  of  Europe  assign  every  great 
and  good  quaUty  ! 

2  [The  first  Hun  invasion  occurred  in  455  a.d.,  and  about  500  they  over- 
threw the  Gupta  Empire  (Smith,  EHI,  309,  316).] 

'  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  136. 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

lord  of  the  Huns,  who  led  his  quota  on  this  occasion.  De  Guignes  i 
describes  Angat  as  being  the  name  of  a  considerable  horde  of 
Huns  or  Moguls  ;  and  Abulghazi  says  that  the  Tartar  tribe  who 
guarded  the  great  wall  of  China  were  termed  Angatti,  who  had 
a  distinct  prince  with  high  pay  and  honour.  The  countries  in- 
habited by  the  Hiong-nou  and  the  Ou-huon,  the  Turks  and  Moguls, 
called  '  Tatar  '  from  Tatan,^  the  name  of  the  country  from  the 
banks  of  the  Irtish  along  the  mountains  of  Altai  to  the  shores  of 
the  Yellow  Sea,  are  described  at  large  by  the  historian  of  the 
Huns  ;  following  whom  and  other  original  sources,  the  historian 
of  the  Fall  of  Rome  has  given  great  interest  to  his  narrative  of 
their  march  into  Europe.  But  those  who  are  desirous  to  learn 
all  that  relates  to  the  past  history  and  manners  of  this  people, 
must  consult  that  monument  of  erudition  and  research,  the 
Geography  of  Malte-Brun.* 

D'Anville,*  quoting  Cosmas  the  traveller,  informs  us  that  the 
White  Huns  (X^vkoI  Oi'i'i'ot)  *  occupied  the  north  of  India  ;  and  it 
is  most  probable  a  colony  of  these  found  their  way  into  Saur- 
ashtra  and  Mewar, 

It  is  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Chambal,  at  the  ancient  Barolh, 
that  tradition  assigns  a  residence  to  the  Hun  ;  and  one  of  the 
'  celebrated  temples  at  that  place,  called  the  Singar  Chaori,  is  the 
marriage  hall  of  the  Hun  prince,  who  is  also  declared  to  have  been 
possessed  of  a  lordship  on  the  opposite  bank,  occupying  the  [111] 
site  of  the  present  town  of  Bhainsror.  In  the  twelfth  century 
the  Hun  must  have  possessed  consequence,  to  occupy  the  place 
he  holds  in  the  chronicle  of  the  princes  of  Gujarat.  The  race  is 
not  extinct.  One  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the  living  bards  of 
India  assured  the  author  of  their  existence  ;  and  in  a  tour  where 
he  accompanied  him,  redeemed  his  pledge,  by  pointing  out  the 

^  Hist.  Gen.  des  Huns,  torn.  iii.  p.  238. 

2  [The  name  Tatar  is  derived  from  that  of  the  Ta-ta  Mongols  {EB,  xxvi. 
448).] 

^  Precis  de  Geographie  universelle.  Malte-Brun  traces  a  connexion 
between  the  Hungarians  and  the  Scandinavians,  from  similarity  of  language  : 
"  A  ces  sieclcs  primitifs  ou  les  Huns,  les  Goths,  les  Jotes,  les  Ases,  et  bieh 
d'autres  peuples  etaient  reunis  autour  des  anciens  autels  d'Odin."  Several 
of  the  words  which  he  affords  us  are  Sanskrit  in  origin.     Vol.  vi.  p.  370. 

*  Eclair cissemens  Geographiques  sur  la  Carte  de  VInde,  p.  43  [Smith, 
EHI,  315  ff.]. 

^  An  orthography  which  more  assimilates  with  the  Hindu  pronunciation 
of  tlie  name  Huon,  or  Oun,  than  Hun. 


THE  JATS,  KATHIS  133 

residence  of  some  in  a  village  on  the  estuary  of  the  Mahi,  though 
degraded  and  mixed  with  other  classes.^ 

We  may  infer  that  few  convulsions  occurred  in  Central  Asia, 
which  drove  forth  these  hordes  of  redundant  population  to  seek 
subsistence  in  Europe,  without  India  participating  in  such  over- 
flow. The  only  singular  circumstance  is,  by  what  means  they 
came  to  be  recognized  as  Hindus,  even  though  of  the  lowest  class. 
Sudra  we  cannot  term  them  ;  for  although  the  Kathi  and  the 
Bala  cannot  be  regarded  as,  or  classed  with  Rajputs,  they  would 
scorn  the  rank  of  Sudra. 

Kathi. — Of  the  ancient  notices  of  this  people  much  has  been 
already  said,  and  all  the  genealogists,  both  of  Rajasthan  and 
Saurashtra,  concur  in  assigning  it  a  place  amongst  the  royal  races 
of  India.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  tribes  of  the  western 
peninsula,  and  which  has  effected  the  change  of  the  name  from 
Saurashtra  to  Kathiawar. 

Of  all  its  inhabitants  the  Kathi  retains  most  originality  :  his 
religion,  his  manners,  and  his  looks,  all  are  decidedly  Scythic.  He 
occupied,  in  the  time  of  Alexander,  that  nook  of  the  Panjab  near 
the  confluent  five  streams.  It  was  against  these  Alexander 
marched  in  person,  when  he  nearly  lost  his  life,  and  where  he  left 
such  a  signal  memorial  of  his  vengeance.  The  Kathi  can  be 
traced  from  these  scenes  to  his  present  haunts.  In  the  earlier 
portion  of  the  Annals  of  Jaisalmer  mention  is  made  of  their  con- 
flicts with  the  Kathi  ;  and  their  own  traditions  ^  fix  their  settle- 
ment in  the  peninsula  from  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  valley 
of  the  Indus,  about  the  eighth  century. 

In  the  twelfth  century  the  Kathi  were  conspicuous  in  the  wars 
with  Prithwiraja,  there  being  several  leaders  of  the  tribe  attached 

^  The  same  bard  says  that  there  are  three  or  four  houses  of  these  Huns 
at  Trisawi,  three  coss  from  Baroda  ;  and  the  Khichi  bard,  Moghji,  says  their 
traditions  record  the  existence  of  many  powerful  Hun  princes  in  India. 
[On  the  Huns  in  W.  India  see  BG,  i.  Part  i.  122  ff.  The  difficulty  in  the  text 
is  now  removed  by  the  proof  that  many  of  them  became  Rajputs.] 

-  The  late  Captain  Macmurdo,  whose  death  was  a  loss  to  the  service  and 
to  literature,  gives  an  animated  account  of  the  habits  of  the  Kathi.  His 
opinions  coincide  entirely  with  my  own  regarding  this  race.  See  vol.  i.  p. 
270,  Trans.  Soc.  of  Bombay.  [For  accounts  of  the  Kathi  see  BG,  ix.  Part  i. 
252  ft'.,  viii.  122  ff.  Under  the  Mahrattas  Kathiawar,  the  name  of  the 
Kathi  tract,  was  extended  to  the  whole  of  Saurashtra  (Wilberforce-Bell, 
Hist,  of  Kathiawad,  132  f.).] 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

to  his  army,  as  well  as  to  that  of  [112]  his  rival,  the  monarch  of 
Kanauj.^  Though  on  this  occasion  they  acted  in  some  degree  of 
subservience  to  the  monarch  of  Anhilwara,  it  would  seem  that 
this  was  more  voluntary  than  forced. 

The  Kathi  still  adores  the  sun,^  scorns  the  peaceful  arts,  and 
is  much  less  contented  with  the  tranquil  subsistence  of  industry 
than  the  precarious  earnings  of  his  former  predatory  pursuits. 
The  Kathi  was  never  happy  but  on  horseback,  collecting  his 
blackmail,  lance  in  hand,  from  friend  and  foe. 

We  will  conclude  this  brief  sketch  with  Captain  Macmurdo's 
character  of  this  race,  "  The  Kathi  differs  in  some  respects  from 
the  Rajput.  He  is  more  cruel  in  his  disposition,  but  far  exceeds 
him  in  the  virtue  of  bravery  ;  ^  and  a  character  possessed  of  more 
energy  than  a  Kathi  does  not  exist.  His  size  is  considerably 
larger  than  common,  often  exceeding  six  feet.  He  is  sometimes 
seen  with  light  hair  and  blue-coloured  eyes.  His  frame  is  athletic 
and  bony,  and  particularly  well  adapted  to  his  mode  of  life.  His 
countenance  is  expressive,  but  of  the  worst  kind,  being  harsh, 
and  often  destitute  of  a  single  mild  feature."  * 

Bala. — ^All  the  genealogists,  ancient  and  modern,  insert  the 
Bala  tribe  amongst  the  Rajkulas.  The  birad,  or  '  blessing,'  of 
the  bard  is  Taita  Multan  ka  rao,^  indicative  of  their  original  abodes 
on  the  Indus.  They  lay  claim,  however,  to  descent  from  the 
Suryavansi,  and  maintain  that  their  great  ancestor,  Bala  or  Bapa, 
was  the  offspring  of  Lava,  the  eldest  son  of  Rama ;  that  their  first 
settlement  in  Saurashtra  was  at  the  ancient  Dhank,  in  more 
remote  periods  called  Mungi  Paithan  ;  and  that,  in  conquering 
the  country  adjacent,  they  termed  it  Balakshetra  (their  capital 
Valabhipura),  and  assumed  the  title?  of  Balarae.  Here  they 
claim  identity  with  the  Guliilot  race  of  Mewar  :    nor  is  it  impos- 

^  It  is  needless  to  particularise  them  here.  In  the  poems  of  Chand,  some 
books  of  which  I  have  translated  and  purpose  giving  to  the  pubhc,  the 
important  part  the  Kathi  had  assigned  to  them  will  appear. 

^  [In  the  form  of  a  symbol  like  a  spider,  the  rays  forming  the  legs  {BO, 
ix.  Part  i.  257).] 

*  It  is  the  Rajput  of  Kathiawar,  not  of  Rajasthan,  to  whom  Captain 
Macmurdo  alludes. 

*  Of  their  personal  appearance,  and  the  blue  eyQ  indicative  of  their 
Gothic  or  Getic  origin,  the  author  will  have  occasion  to  speak  more  particu- 
larly in  his  personal  narrative. 

"  '  Princes  of  Tatta  and  Multan.' 


THE  KATHIS,  BALAS  135 

siblc  that  they  may  be  a  branch  of  this  family,  which  long  held 
power  in  Saurashtra.^  Before  the  Guhilots  adopted  the  worship 
of  Mahadeo,  which  period  is  indicated  in  their  annals,  the  chief 
object  of  their  adoration  was  the  sun,  giving  them  that  Scythic 
resemblance  to  which  the  Balas  have  every  appearance  of  claim 
[113]. 

The  Balas  on  the  continent  of  Saurashtra,  on  the  contrary, 
assert  their  origin  to  be  Induvansa,  and  that  they  are  the  Balaka- 
putras  who  were  the  anciept  lords  of  Aror  on  the  Indus.  It 
would  be  presumption  to  decide  between  these  claims  ;  but  I 
would  venture  to  surmise  that  they  might  be  the  offspring  of 
Salya,  one  of  the  princes  of  the  Mahabharata,  who  founded 
Aror. 

The  Kathis  claim  descent  from  the  Balas  :  an  additional  proof 
of  northern  origin,  and  strengthening  their  right  to  the  epithet 
of  the  bards,  '  Lords  of  Multan  and  Tatta.'  The  Balas  were  of 
sufficient  consequence  in  the  thirteenth  century  to  make  incur- 
sions on  Mewar,  and  the  first  exploit  of  the  celebrated  Rana  Hamir 
was  his  kiUing  the  Bala  chieftain  of  Chotila.^  The  present  chief 
of  Dhank  is  a  Bala,  and  the  tribe  yet  preserves  importance  in  the 
peninsula. 

Jhala  Makwana. — This  tribe  also  inhabits  the  Saurashtra 
peninsula.  It  is  styled  Rajput,  though  neither  classed  with  the 
Solar,  Lunar,  nor  Agnikula  races  ;  but  though  we  cannot  directly 
prove  it,  we  have  every  right  to  assign  to  it  a  northern  origin. 
It  is  a  tribe  little  known  in  Hindustan  or  even  Rajasthan,  into 
which  latter  country  it  was  introduced  entirely  through  the  medium 
of  the  ancient  lords  of  Saurashtra,  the  present  family  of  Mewar  ; 
a  sanction  which  covers  every  defect.  A  splendid  act  of  self- 
devotion  of  the  Jhala  chief,  when  Rana  Partap  was  oppressed 
with  the  whole  weight  of  Akbar's  power,  obtained,  with  the 
gratitude  of  this  prince,  the  highest  honours  he  could  confer, — 
his  daughter  in  marriage,  and  a  seat  on  his  right  hand.  That  it 
was  the  act,  and  not  his  rank  in  the  scale  of  the  thirty-six  tribes, 
which  gained  him  this  distinction,  we  have  decided  proof  in  later 
times,  when  it  was  deemed  a  mark  of  great  condescension  that 
the  present  Rana  should  sanction  a  remote  branch  of  his  own 

^  [The  origin  of  the  Balas  is  not  certain  :  they  were  probably  Gurjaras 
(Ibid.  495  £.).] 

2  [Chotila  in  Kathiawar  {BG,  viii.  407).] 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

family  bestowing  a  daughter  in  marriage  on  the  Jhala  ruler  of 
Kotah.^  This  tribe  has  given  its  name  to  one  of  the  largest 
divisions  of  Saurashtra,  Jhalawar,  which  possesses  several  towns 
of  importance.  Of  these  Bankaner,  Halwad,  and  Dhrangadra 
are  the  principal. 

Regarding  the  period  of  the  settlement  of  the  Jhalas  tradition 
is  silent,  as  also  on  their  early  history  :  but  the  aid  of  its  quota 
was  given  to  the  Rana  against  the  [114]  first  attacks  of  the 
Muhammadans  ;  and  in  the  heroic  history  of  Prithwiraja  we 
have  ample  and  repeated  mention  of  the  Jhala  chieftains  who 
distinguished  themselves  in  his  service,  as  well  as  in  that  of  his 
antagonist,  and  the  name  of  one  of  these,  as  recorded  by  the  bard 
Chand,  I  have  seen  inscribed  on  the  granite  rock  of  the  sacred 
Girnar,  near  their  primitive  abodes,  where  we  leave  them.  There 
are  several  subdivisions  of  the  Jhala,  of  which  the  Makwana  is  the 
princiijal. 

Jethwa,  Jaithwa,  Kamari. — This  is  an  ancient  tribe,  and  by  all 
authorities  styled  Rajput  ;  though,  like  the  Jhala,  little  known 
out  of  Saurashtra,  to  one  of  the  divisions  of  which  it  has  given 
its  name,  Jethwar.  Its  present  possessions  are  on  the  western 
coast  of  the  peninsula  :  the  residence  of  its  prince,  who  is  styled 
Rana,  is  Porbandar. 

In  remote  times  their  capital  was  Ghumli,  whose  ruins  attest 
considerable  power,  and  afford  singular  scope  for  analogy,  in 
architectural  device,  with  the  style  termed  Saxon  of  Europe,^ 
The  bards  of  the  Jethwas  run  through  a  long  list  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  crowned  heads,  and  in  the  eighth  century  have  chron- 
icled the  marriage  of  their  prince  with  the  Tuar  refounder  of  Delhi. 
At  this  period  the  Jethwa  bore  the  name  of  Kamar  ;  and  Sahl 
Kamar  is  reported  to  be  the  prince  who  was  driven  from  Ghumli, 
in  the  twelfth  century,  by  invaders  from  the  north.  With  this 
change  the  name  of  Kamar  was  sunk,  and  that  of  Jethwa  assumed, 

^  His  son,  Madho  Singh,  the  present  administrator,  is  the  offspring  of 
the  celebrated  Zalim  and  a  Ranawat  chieftain's  daughter,  which  has  entitled 
his  (Madho  Singh's)  issue  to  marry  far  above  their  scale  in  rank.  So  much 
does  superiority  of  blood  rise  above  all  worldly  considerations  with  a  Rajput, 
that  although  ZaUm  Singh  held  the  reins  of  the  richest  and  best  ordered 
State  of  Rajasthan,  he  deemed  his  family  honoured  by  his  obtaining  to  wife 
for  his  grandson  the  daughter  of  a  Kachhwaha  minor  chieftain. 

-  [Ghumli  in  the  Barda  hills,  about  40  miles  east  of  Porbandar  (Wilber- 
iorce-Bell,  Hist,  of  Kathiawad,  49  f. ;  BG,  viii.  440).] 


THE  JETHWAS,  GOHILS,  SARWAIYAS  137 

which  has  induced  the  author  to  style  them  Kamari  ;  ^  and  as  they, 
with  the  other  inhabitants  of  this  peninsula,  have  all  the  appear- 
ance of  Scythic  descent,  urging  no  pretensions  to  connexion  with 
the  ancient  races  of  India,  they  may  be  a  branch  of  that  celebrated 
race,  the  Cimmerii  of  higher  Asia^  and  the  Cimbri  of  Europe. 

Their  legends  are  as  fabulous  as  fanciful.  They  trace  their 
descent  from  the  monkey-god  Hanuman,  and  confirnn  it  by 
alleging  the  elongation  of  the  spine  of  their  princes,  who  bear  the 
epithet  of  Puncharia,  or  the  'long-tailed,'  Ranas  of  Saurashtra. 
But  the  manners  and  traditions  of  this  race  will  appear  more  fully 
in  the  narrative  of  the  author's  travels  amongst  them. 

Gohil." — This  was  a  distinguished  race  :  it  claims  to  be  Surya- 
vansi,  and  with  some  pretension.  The  first  residence  of  the 
Gohils  was  Juna  Khergarh,  near  the  bend  of  the  Luni  in  Marwar.' 
How  long  they  had  been  established  here  we  know  not.  They 
took  it  from  one  of  the  aboriginal  Bhil  chiefs  named  Kherwa,  and 
had  been  in  possession  of  it  for  twenty  generations  when  expelled 
by  the  [115]  Rathors  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century.  Thence 
migrating  to  Saurashtra,  they  fixed  at  Piramgarh  ;  *  which  being 
destroyed,  one  branch  settled  at  Bhagwa,  and  the  chief  inarrying 
the  daughter  of  Nandanagar  or  Nandod,^  he  usurped  or  obtained 
his  father-in-law's  estates  ;  and  twenty-seven  generations  are 
enumerated,  from  Sompal  to  Narsingh,  the  present  Raja  of 
Nandod.  Another  branch  fixed  at  Sihor,  and  thence  founded 
Bhaunagar  and  Gogha.  The  former  town,  on  the  gulf  of  the 
Mahi,  is  the  residence  of  the  Gohils,  who  have  given  their  name, 
Gohilwar,  to  the  eastern  portion  of  the  peninsula  of  Saurashtra. 
The  present  chief  addicts  himself  to  commerce,  and  possesses 
ships  which  trade  to  the  gold  coast  of  Sofala. 

Sarwaiya  or  Sariaspa. — Of  this  race  tradition  has  left  us  only 
the  knowledge  that  it  once  was  famous  ;  for  although,  in  the 
catalogues  of  the  bard,  it  is  introduced  as  the  "  essence  of  the 
Khatri  race,"  "  we  have  only  a  few  legends  regarding  its  present 

^  [The  terms  Kamar  and  Kamari  seem  to  have  disappeared.] 
^  A  compound  word  from  goh,  '  strength  ' ;    Ha,  '  the  earth.'     [This  is 
out  of  the  question  :    of.  Guhilot.] 

^  [For  Kher,  '  the  cradle  of  the  Rathors,'  see  Erskine  iii.  A.  199.] 

*  [For  the  island  of  Piram  in  Ahmadabad  district  see  IGI,  xx.  149  f.,  and 
for  the  tradition  Wilberforce-Bell,  op.  cit.  71  f. ;   BG,  iv.  348,  viii.  114.] 

*  [The  ancient  Nandapadra  in  Rajplpla,  Bombay  (IGI,  xviii.  361  ;  BG, 
i.  Part  ii.  314).]  *  Sarwaiya  Kliatri  tain  sar. 


138  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

degradation.  Its  name,  as  well  as  this  epithet  of  the  bard, 
induces  a  belief  that  it  is  a  branch  of  the  Aswas,  with  the  prefix 
of  sar,  denoting  '  essence,'  or  priority.  But  it  is  useless  to  specu- 
late on  a  name. 

Silar  or  Salar. — Like  the  former,  we  have  here  but  the  shade 
of  a  name  ;  though  one  which,  in  all  probability,  originated  the 
epithet  Larike,  by  which  the  Saurashtra  peninsula  was  known  to 
Ptolemy  and  the  geographers  of  early  Europe.  The  tribe  of  Lar 
was  once  famous  in  Saurashtra,  and  in  the  annals  of  Anhilwara 
mention  is  made  of  Siddharaja  Jayasingha  having  extirpated 
them  throughout  his  dominions.  Salar,  or  Silar,  would  therefore 
be  distinctively  the  Lar.^  Indeed,  the  author  of  the  Kumarpal 
Charitra  styles  it  Rajtilak,  or  '  regal  prince  '  ;  but  the  name  only 
now  exists  amongst  the  mercantile  classes  professing  the  faith 
of  Buddha  [Jainism]  :  it  is  inserted  as  one  of  the  eighty-four. 
Tlie  greater  portion  of  these  are  of  Rajput  origin. 

Dabhi. — Little  can  be  said  of  this  tribe  but  that  it  was  once 
celebrated  in  Saurashtra.  By  some  it  is  called  the  branch  of  the 
Yadu,  though  all  the  genealogists  give  it  distinct  importance.  It 
now  possesses  neither  territory  nor  numbers.^ 

Gaur. — The  Gaur  tribe  was  once  respected  in.  Rajasthan, 
though  it  never  there  attained  to  any  considerable  eminence. 
The  ancient  kings  of  Bengal  were  of  this  race,  and  gave  their 
name  to  the  capital,  Lakhnauti  [116]. 

We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  possessors  of 
the  land  afterwards  occupied  by  the  Chauhans,  as  they  are  styled 
in  all  the  old  chronicles  the  '  Gaur  of  Ajmer.'  Repeated  mention  is 
made  of  them  in  the  wars  of  Prithwiraja,  as  leaders  of  considerable 
renown,  one  of  whom  formed  a  small  State  in  the  centre  of  India, 
which  survived  through  seven  centuries  of  Mogul  domination, 
till  it  at  length  fell  a  prey  indirectly  to  the  successes  of  the  British 
over  the  Mahrattas,  when  Sindhia  in  1809  annihilated  the  power 
of  the   Gaur  and  took  possession  of  his  capital,   Sheopur.*     A 

^  Su,  as  before  observed,  is  a  distinctive  prefix,  meaning  '  excellent.' 
[The  derivation  is  impossible.     Lata  was  S.  Gujarat.] 

2  [For  the  Dabhi  tribe,  see  lA,  iii.  69  ff.,  193  f. ;  Forbes,  Rasmdla,  237  f.] 
'  In  1807  the  author  passed  through  this  territory,  in  a  soHtary  ramble 
to  explore  these  parts,  then  Uttle  known  ;  and  though  but  a  young  Sub., 
was  courteously  received  and  entertained  both  at  Baroda  and  Sheopur. 
In  1809  he  again  entered  the  country  under  very  different  circumstances, 
in  the  suite  of  the  British  envoy  with  Sjndhia's  court,  and  had  the  grief  to 


DORS,  GAHARWARS,  CHANDELS  139 

petty  district,  yielding  about  £5000  annually,  is  all  this  rapacious 
head  of  a  predatory  government  has  left  to  the  Gaur,  out  of  about 
twelve  lacs  of  annual  revenue.  The  Gaur  has  five  sakha  :  Untahar? 
Silhala,  Tur,  Dusena,  and  Budana.^ 

Dor  or  Doda. — We  have  little  to  say  of  this  race.  Though 
occupying  a  place  in  aU  the  genealogies,  time  has  destroyed  all 
knowledge  of  the  pa'st  history  of  a  tribe,  to  gain  a  victory  over 
whom  was  deemed  by  Prithwiraja  worthy  of  a  tablet.'^ 

Gaharwar. — The  Gaharwar  Rajput  is  scarcely  known  to  his 
brethren  in  Rajasthan,  who  will  not  admit  his  contaminated 
blood  to  mix  with  theirs  ;  though,  as  a  brave  warrior,  he  is 
entitled  to  their  fellowship.  The  original  country  of  the  Gahar- 
war is  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Kasi.*  Their  great  ancestor  was 
Ivhortaj  Deva,  from  whom  Jasamida,  the  seventh  in  descent,  in 
consequence  of  some  grand  sacrificial  rites  performed  at  Vindhya- 
vasi,  gave  the  title  of  Bundela  to  his  issue.  Bundela  has  now 
usurped  the  name  of  Gaharwar,  and  become  the  appellation  of 
the  immense  tract  which  its  various  branches  inhabit  in  Bundel- 
khand,  on  the  ruins  of  the  Chandelas,  whose  chief  cities,  Kalanjar, 
Mohini,  and  Mahoba,  they  took  possession  of.* 

Chandel. — The  Chandela,  classed  by  some  of  the  genealogists 
amongst  the  thirty-six  tribes,  were  powerful  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, possessing  the  whole  of  the  regions  between  [117]  the  Jumna 
and  Nerbudda,  now   occupied   by  the  Bundelas  and  Baghelas. 


witness  the  operations  against  Sheopur,  and  its  fall,  unable  to  aid  his  friends. 
The  Gaur  prince  had  laid  aside  the  martial  virtues.  He  became  a  zealot  in 
the  worship  of  Vishnu,  left  off  animal  food,  was  continually  dancing  before 
the  image  of  the  god,  and  was  far  more  conversant  in  the  mystical  poetry 
of  Krishna  and  his  beloved  Radha  than  in  the  martial  song  of  the  bard. 
His  name  was  Radhikadas,  '  the  slave  of  Radha  ' ;  and,  as  far  as  he  is 
personally  concerned,  we  might  cease  to  lament  that  he  was  the  last  of  his 
race. 

^  [Only  two  sub-clans  are  named  in  Rajpuiana  Census  Report,  1911,  i. 
255.  Gaur  Rajjiuts  are  numerous  in  the  United  Provinces,  and  the  Gaur 
Brahmans  of  Jaipur  represent  a  foreign  tribe  merged  into  Hindu  society 
{lA,  xi.  22).  They  can  have  no  connexion  with  the  Pala  or  Sena  dynasty 
of  Bengal  (Smith,  EHI,  397  ff.).] 

^  See  Transactions  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  i.  p.  133.  [They  are 
found  in  the  Upper  Ganges-Jumna  Duab,  and  are  Musalmans.] 

^  Benares. 

*  [For  the  Gaharwar,  see  Crooke,  Tribes  and  Castes  N.W.P.  and  Oudh, 
ii.  32  if.,  and  for  the  Gaharwar  dynasty  of  Kanauj  (Smith,  EHI,  384  £f.).] 


140  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

Their  wars  with  Prithwiraja,  forming  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting of  his  exploits,  ended  in  the  humihation  of  the  Cliandela, 
and  prepared  the  way  for  their  conquest  by  the  Gaharwars  ; 
the  date  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Bundela  Manvira  was  about 
A.D.  1200.  Madhukar  Sah,  the  thirteenth  in  descent  from  him, 
founded  Orchha  on  the  Betwa,  by  whose  son,  Birsingh  Deva, 
considerable  power  was  attained.  Orchha  became  the  chief  of 
the  numerous  Bundela  principalities  ;  but  its  founder  drew  upon 
himself  everlasting  infamy,  by  putting  to  death  the  wise  Abu-1 
Fazl,^  the  historian  and  friend  of  the  magnanimous  Akbar,  and 
the  encomiast  and  advocate  of  the  Hindu  race. 

From  the  period  of  Akbar  the  Bundelas  bore  a  distinguished 
part  in  all  the  grand  conflicts,  to  the  very  close  of  the  monarchy  : 
nor,  amongst  all  the  brave  chiefs  of  Rajasthan,  did  any  perform 
more  gallant  or  faithful  services  than  the  Bundela  chieftains  of 
Orchha  and  Datia.  Bhagwan  of  Orchlia  commanded  the  ad- 
vanced guard  of  the  army  of  Shah  Jahan.  His  son,  Subhkarana, 
was  Aurangzeb's  most  distinguished  leader  in  the  Deccan,  and 
Dalpat  fell  in  the  war  of  succession  on  the  plains  of  Jajau.*  His 
descendants  have  not  degenerated  ;  nor  is  there  anything  finer 
in  the  annals  of  the  chivalry  of  the  West,  than  the  dignified  and 
heroic  conduct  of  the  father  of  the  present  chief.*  The  Bundela 
is  now  a  numerous  race,  while  the  name  Gaharwar  remains  in  their 
original  haunts. 

Bargujar. — This  race  is  Suryavansi,  and  the  only  one,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Guhilot,  which  claims  from  Lava,  the  elder  son 

^  Slain  at  the  instigation  of  Prince  Salim,  son  of  Akbar,  afterwards  the 
emperor  Jahangir.  See  this  incident  stated  in  the  emperor's  own  Com- 
mentaries l^Ain,  i.  Introd.  xxiv.  ff.]. 

*  [For  Subhkaran  Singh,  see  Manucci  (i.  270,  272).  Dalpat  was  one  of 
his  patients  (Ibid.  ii.  298).] 

'  On  the  death  of  Mahadaji  Sindhia,  the  females  of  his  family,  in  appre- 
hension of  his  successor  (Daulat  Rao),  sought  refuge  and  protection  with 
the  Raja  of  Datia.  An  array  was  sent  to  demand  their  surrender,  and 
hostihty  was  proclaimed  as  the  consequence  of  refusal.  This  brave  man 
would  not  even  await  the  attack,  but  at  the  head  of  a  devoted  band  of  three 
hundred  horse,  with  their  lances,  carried  destruction  amongst  their  assailants, 
neither  giving  nor  receiving  quarter  :  and  thus  he  fell  in  defence  of  the  laws 
of  sanctuary  and  honour.  Even  when  grievously  wounded,  he  would 
accept  no  aid,  and  refused  to  leave  the  field,  but  disdaining  all  compromise 
awaited  his  fate.  The  author  has  passed  upon  the  spot  where  this  gallant 
deed  was  performed  ;  and  from  his  son,  the  present  Raja,  had  the  annals 
of  his  house.  « 


SENGARS,  SAKARWALS,  BAIS,  DAHIAS  141 

of  Rama,  The  Bargujar  held  considerable  possessions  in  Dhun- 
dhar/  and  their  capital  was  the  hill  fortress  of  Rajor  ^  in  the 
principality  of  Macheri.  Rajgarh  and  Alwar  were  also  their  [118] 
possessions.  The  Bargujars  were  expelled  these  abodes  by  the 
Kachhwahas.  A  colony  found  refuge  and  a  new  residence  at 
Anupshahr  on  the  Ganges. 

Sengar. — Of  this  tribe  little  is  known,  nor  does  it  appear  ever 
to  have  obtained  great  celebrity.  The  sole  chieftainship  of  the 
Sengars  is  Jagmohanpur  on  the  Jumna.' 

Sakarwal. — This  tribe,  like  the  former,  never  appears  to  have 
claimed  much  notice  amidst  the  princes  of  Rajasthan  ;  nor  is 
there  a  single  independent  chieftain  now  remaining,  although 
there  is  a  small  district  called  after  them,  Sakarwar,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Chambal,  adjoining  Jaduvati,  and  like  it  now  incor- 
porated in  the  province  of  Gwalior,  in  Sindhia's  dominions.  The 
Sakarwal  is  therefore  reduced  to  subsist  by  cultivation,  or  the 
more  precarious  employment  of  his  lance,  either  as  a  follower  of 
others,  or  as  a  common  depredator.  They  have  their  name  from 
the  town  of  Sikri  (Fatehpur),  which  was  formerly  an  independent 
principality.* 

Bais. — The  Bais  has  obtained  a  place  amongst  the  thirty-six 
races,  though  the  author  believes  it  but  a  subdivision  of  the 
Suryavansi,  as  it  is  neither  to  be  met  with  in  the  lists  of  Chand, 
nor  in  those  of  the  Kumarpal  Charitra.  It  is  now  numerous,  and 
has  given  its  name  to  an  extensive  district,  Baiswara  in  the  Duab, 
or  the  land  between  the  Ganges  and  Jumna. ^ 

Dahia. — This  is  an  ancient  tribe,  whose  residence  was  the 
banks  of  the  Indus,  near  its  confluence  with  the  Sutlej  ;  and 
although  they  retain  a  place  amongst  the  thirty-six  royal  races, 
we  have  not  the  knowledge  of  any  as  now  existing.     They  are 

^  Amber  or  Jaipur,  as  well  as  Macheri,  were  comprehended  in  Dhundhar, 
the  ancient  geographical  designation  [said  to  be  derived  from  an  ancient 
sacrificial  mound  (dhundh),  on  the  western  frontier  of  the  State,  or  from  a 
demon-king,  Dhundhu  {IGI,  xiii.  385).] 

*  The  ruins  of  Rajor  are  about  fifteen  miles  west  of  Rajgarh.  A  person 
sent  there  by  the  author  reported  the  existence  of  inscriptions  in  the  temple 
of  Nilkantha  Mahadeo. 

'  [They  are  numerous  in  the  United  Provinces,  but  their  origin  and 
traditions  are  uncertain.] 

*  [See  Crooke,  Tribes  and  Castes  N.W.P.  and  Oudh,  iv.  263  ff.] 

^  [They  are  almoa^  certainly  of  mixed  origin  (Crooke,  op.  cif.  i.  118  ff.).] 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

mentioned  in  the  annals  of  the  Bhattis  of  Jaisalmer,  and  from 
name  as  well  as  from  locale,  we  may  infer  that  they  were  the 
Dahae  of  Alexander.^ 

Joiya,  Johya. — This  race  possessed  the  same  haimts  as  the 
Dahia,  and  are  always  coupled  with  them.  They,  however, 
extended  across  the  Ghara  into  the  northern  desert  of  India, 
and  in  ancient  chronicles  are  entitled  '  Lords  of  Jangaldesa,'  a 
tract  which  comprehended  Hariana,  Bhatner,  and  Nagor.  The 
author  possesses  a  work  relative  to  this  tribe,  like  the  Dahia, 
now  extinct.^ 

Mohil. — We  have  no  mode  of  judging  of  the  pretensions  of 
this  race  to  the  place  it  is  allowed  to  occupy  by  the  genealogists. 
All  that  can  be  learned  of  its  past  history  is,  that  it  inhabited 
a  considerable  tract  so  late  as  the  foundation  of  the  present  State 
of  Bikaner,  the  Rathor  founders  of  which  expelled,  if  not  extir- 
pated, the  Mohil.  With  the  Malan,  Malani,  and  Mallia,  also  ex- 
tinct, it  may  [119]  claim  the  honour  of  descent  from  the  ancient 
Malloi,  the  foes  of  Alexander,  whose  abode  was  Multan.  ( Qu. 
Mohilthan  ?  )  « 

Nikumbha. — Of  this  race,  to  which-  celebrity  attaches  in  all  the 
genealogies,  we  can  only  discover  that  they  were  proprietors  of 
the  district  of  Mandalgarh  prior  to  the  Guhilots.* 

Rajpali.— It  is  difficult  to  discover  anything  regarding  this 
race,  which,  under  the  names  of  Rajpali,  Rajpalaka,  or  simply 
Pala,  are  mentioned  by  all  the  genealogists  ;  especially  those  of 
Saurashtra,  to  which  in  all  probability  it  was  confined.  This 
tends  to  make  it  Scythic  in  origin  ;  the  conclusion  is  strengthened 
by  thcr  derivation  of  the  name,  meaning  '  royal  shepherd  '  :  it 
was  probably  a  branch  of  the  ancient  Pali.^ 

Dahariya. — The  Kumarpal  Charitra  is  our  sole  authority  for 

^  [They  lived  east  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  can  have  uo  connexion  with 
the  Indian  Dahia  (Sykes,  Hist,  of  Persia,  i.  330).] 

^  [Their  origin  is  very  uncertain  ;  in  Bahawalpur  they  now  repudiate 
Rajput  descent,  and  claim  to  be  descendants  of  the  Prophet  (Rose,  Glossary, 
ii.  410  ff.  ;   Malik  Muhammad  Din,  Gazetteer  Bahawalpur,  i.  23,  133  ff.).] 

3  [The  Malloi  (Skt.  Malava)  occupied  the  present  Montgomery  District, 
and  parts  of  Jhang.  They  had  no  connexion  with  Multan  (Skt.  Miilasthana- 
pura),  (Smith,  EHI,  96  ;  McCrindle,  Alexander,  350  ff.).] 

*  [They  are  a  mixed  race,  early  settlers  in  Alwar  (Crooke,  Tribes  and 
Castes  N.W.P.  and  Oudh,  iv.  86  ff.)".] 

^  The  final  syllable  lea  is  a  mark  of  tlie  genitive  cas^[?]. 


THE  DAHARIYA,  DAHIIVIA  143 

classing  this  race  with  the  thirty-six.  Of  its  historj'  we  know 
nothing.  Amongst  the  princes  who  came  to  the  aid  of  Chitor, 
when  first  assailed  by  the  arms  of  Islam,  was  '  the  lord  of  Debal, 
Dahir,  Despati.'  ^  From  the  ignorance  of  the  transcriber  of  the 
Guhilot  annals,  Delhi  is  written  instead  of  Debal ;  but  we  not 
only  have  the  whole  of  the  names  of  the  Tuar  race,  but  Delhi  was 
not  in  existence  at  this  time.  Slight  as  is  the  mention  of  this 
prince  in  the  Chitor  annals,  it  is  nevertheless  of  high  value,  as 
stamping  them  with  authenticity  ;  for  this  Dahir  v/as  actually 
the  despot  of  Sind,  whose  tragical  end  in  his  capital  Debal  is 
related  by  Abu-1  Fazl.  It  was  in  the  ninety-ninth  year  of  the 
Hegira  that  lie  was  attacked  by  Muhammad  bin  Kasim,  the 
lieutenant  of  the  Caliph  of  Bagdad,  and  treated  with  the  gi-eatest 
barbarity.^  Whether  this  prince  used  Dahir  as  a  proper  name, 
or  as  that  of  his  tribe,  must  be  left  to  conjecture. 

Dahima. — The  Dahima  has  left  but  the  wreck  of  a  great  name.^ 
Seven  centuries  have  swept  av/ay  all  recollection  of  a  tribe  who 
once  afforded  one  of  the  proudest  themes  for  the  song  of  the  bard. 
The  Dahima  was  the  lord  of  Bayana,  and  one  of  the  most  powerful 
vassals  of  the  Chauhan  emperor,  Prithwiraja.  Three  brothers  of 
this  house  held  the  highest  offices  under  this  monarch,  and  the 
period  during  which  the  elder,  Kaimas,  was  his  minister,  was  the 
brightest  in  the  history  of  the  Chauhan  :  but  he  fell  a  victim  to 
a  blind  jealousy.  Pundir,  the  second  brother  [120],  commanded 
the  frontier  at  Lahore.  The  third,  Chawand  Rae,  was  the 
principal  leader  m  the  last  battle,  where  Prithwiraja  fell,  with  the 
whole  of  his  chivalry,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ghaggar.  Even  the 
historians  of  Shihabu-d-din  have  preserved  the  name  of  the 
gallant  Dahima,  Chawand  Rae,  whom  they  style  Khandirai  ;  and 
to  whose  valour,  they  relate,  Shihabu-d-din  himself  nearly  fell  a 
sacrifice.  With  the  Chauhan,  the  race  seems  to  have  been 
extinguished.  Rainsi,  his  only  son,  was  by  this  sister  of  Chawand 
Rae,  but  he  did  not  survive  the  capture  of  Delhi.     This  marriage 

1  'Chief  of  a  country,'  from  des,  'country,'  and  pati,  'chief.'  {Qu.. 
deairoTTjs  ?) 

-  [Ain,  ii.  344  f.  Dahir  was  killed  in  action  :  the  real  tragedy  was  the 
death  of  Muhammad  bin  Kasim  in  consequence  of  a  false  accusation  (Elliot- 
Dowson  i.  292).] 

*  [Elliot  {Suppltmental  Glossary,  262)  writes  the  name  Dhahima,  and 
says  they  are  found  in  Meerut  District.] 


144  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

forms  the  subject  of  one  of  the  books  of  the  bard,  who  never  was 
more  eloquent  than  in  the  praise  of  the  Dahima.^ 

Abokiginal  Races  ^ 

Bagri,  Mer,  Kaba^  Mina,  Bhil,  Sahariya,  Thori,  Khangar, 
Gond,  Bhar,  Janwar,  and  Sarad. 

Agricultukal  and  Pastoral  Tribes 
Abhira  or  Ahir,  Goala,  Kurmi  or  Kulumbi,  Gujar,  and  Jat 

Rajput  Tribes  to  which  no  Sakha  is  assigned 

Jaha,  Peshani,  Sohagni,  Chahira,  Ran,  Simala,  Botila,Gotchar, 
Malan,  Uhir,  Hul,  Bachak,  Batar,  Kerach,  Kotak,  Busa,  and 
Bargota. 

Catalogue  of  the  Eighty-Four  Mercantile  Tribes 

Sri  Sri  ISIal,  Srimal,  Oswal,  Bagherwal,  Dindu,  Pushkarwal, 
Mertawal,  Harsora,  Surawal,  Pihwal,  Bhambu,  Kandhelwal, 
Dohalwal,  Kederwal,  Desawal,  Gujarwal,  Sohorwal,  Agarwal, 
Jaelwal,  Manatwal,  Kajotiwal,  Kortawal,  Chehtrawal,  Soni, 
Sojatwal,  Nagar,  Mad,  Jalhera,  Lar,  Kapol,  Khareta,  Barari, 
Dasora,  Bambarwal,  Nagadra,  Karbera,  Battewara,  Mewara, 
Narsinghpura,  Khaterwal,  Panehamwal,  Hanerwal,  Sirkera, 
Bais,  Stukhi,  Kambowal,  Jiranwal,  Baghelwal,  Orchitwal,  Baman- 
wal,    Srigur,    Thakurwal,    Balmiwal,    Tepora,    Tilota,    Atbargi, 

^  Chand,  the  bard,  thus  describes  Bayana,  and  the  marriage  of  Prith- 
wiraja  with  the  Dahimi :  "On  the  summit  of  the  hills  of  Druinadahar, 
whose  awful  load  oppressed  the  head  of  Sheshnag,  was  placed  the  castle  of 
Bayana,  resembling  Kailas.  The  Dahima  had  three  sons  and  two  fair 
daughters  :  may  his  name  be  perpetuated  throughout  this  iron  age  !  One 
daughter  was  married  to  the  Lord  of  Mewat,  the  other  to  the  Chauhan. 
With  her  he  gave  in  dower  eight  beauteous  damsels  and  sixty-three  female 
slaves,  one  hundred  chosen  horses  of  the  breed  of  Irak,  two  elephants,  and 
ten  shields,  a  pallet  of  silver  for  the  bride,  one  hundred  wooden  images,  one 
hundred  chariots,  and  one  thousand  pieces  of  gold."  The  bard,  on  taking 
leave,  says  :  "  the  Dahima  lavished  his  gold,  and  filled  his  coffers  with  the 
praises  of  mankind.  The  Dahimi  produced  a  jewel,  a  gem  without  price, 
the  Prince  Rainsi." 

The  author  here  gives  a  fragment  of  the  ruins  of  Bayana,  the  ancient 
abode  of  the  Dahima. 

2  [Many  names  in  the  following  list  are  not  capable  of  identification,  and 
their  correct  form  is  uncertain.  Those  of  the  mercantile  tribes  are  largely 
groups  confined  to  Rajputana.] 


THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES     145 

Ladisakha,  Badnora,  Khicha,  Gasora,  Bahaohar,  Jemo,  Padmora, 
Maharia,  Dhakarwal,  Mangora,  Goelwal,  Mohorwal,  Chitora, 
Kakalia,  Bhareja,  Andora,  Sachora,  Bhungrawal,  Mandahala, 
Bramania,  Bagria,  Dindoria,  Borwal,  Serbia,  Orwal,  Nuphag,  and 
Nagora.     (One  wanting.) 


CHAPTER   8 

Having  thus  taken  a  review  of  the  tribes  which  at  various 
times  inhabited  and  still  inhabit  Hindustan,  the  subject  must 
be  concluded. 

In  so  extensive  a  field  it  was  impossible  to  introduce  all  that 
could  have  been  advanced  on  the  distinctive  marks  in  religion 
and  manners  ;  but  this  deficiency  will  be  remedied  in  the  annals 
of  the  most  prominent  races  yet  ruling,  by  which  we  shall  prevent 
repetition. 

The  same  religion  governing  the  institutions  of  all  tliese  tribes 
operates  to  counteract  that  dissimilarity  in  manners,  which  would 
naturally  be  expected  amidst  so  great  a  variety,  from  situation 
or  climate  ;  although  such  causes  do  produce  a  material  difference 
in  external  habit.  Cross  but  the  elevated  range  which  divides 
upland  Mewar  from  the  low  sandy  region  of  Marwar,  and  the 
difference  of  costume  and  manners  will  strike  the  most  casual 
observer.  But  these  changes  are  only  exterior  and  personal  ;  the 
mental  character  is  less  changed,  because  the  same  creed,  the 
same  religion  (the  principal  former  and  reformer  of  manners), 
guides  them  all. 

Distinctions  between  the  Rajput  States. — We  have  the  same 
mythology,  the  same  theogony,  the  same  festivals,  though  com- 
memorated with  peculiar  distinctions.  There  are  niceties  in 
thought,  as  in  dress,  which  if  possible  to  communicate  would 
excite  but  little  interest  ;  when  the  tie  of  a  turban  and  the  fold 
of  a  robe  are,  like  Masonic  symbols,  distinguishing  badges  of 
tribes.  But  it  is  in  their  domestic  circle  that  manners  are  best 
seen  [122]  ;  where  restraint  is  thrown  aside,  and  no  authority 
controls  the  freedom  of  expression.  But  does  the  European  seek 
access  to  this  sanctum  of  nationality  ere  he  gives  his  debtor  and 
creditor  account  of  character,  his  balanced  catalogue  of  virtues  and 
vices  ?  He  may,  however,  with  the  Rajput,  whose  independence 
of  mind  places  him  above  restraint,  and  whose  hospitality 
voi-  I  t, 


146  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

and  love  of  character  will  alv/ays  afford  free  communication  to 
those  who  respect  his  opinions  and  his  prejudices,  and  who  are 
devoid  of  that  overweening  opinion  of  self,  which  imagines  that 
nothing  can  be  learned  from  such  friendly  intercourse.  The 
personal  dissimilarity  accordingly  arises  from  locale  ;  the  mental 
similarity  results  from  a  grand  fixed  principle,  which,  whatever 
its  intrinsic  moral  effect,  whatever  its  incompatibility  with  the 
elevated  notions  we  entertain,  has  preserved  to  these  races,  as 
nations,  the  enjoj^ment  of  their  ancient  habits  to  this  distant 
period.  May  our  boasted  superiority  in  all  that  exalts  man 
above  his  fellows,  ensure  to  our  Eastern  empire  like  duration  ; 
and  may  these  notions  of  our  own  peculiarly  favoured  destiny 
operate  to  prevent  us  from  laying  prostrate,  in  our  periodical 
ambitious  visitations,  these  the  most  ancient  relics  of  civilization 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  For  the  dread  of  their  amalgamation 
with  our  empire  will  prevail,  though  such  a  result  would  be 
opposed  not  only  to  their  happiness,  but  to  our  own  stability. 

Alliances  with  the  British. — With  our  present  system  of  alli- 
ances, so  pregnant  with  evil  from  their  origin,  this  fatal  conse- 
quence (far  from  desired  by  the  legislative  authorities  at  home) 
must  inevitably  ensue.  If  the  wit  of  man  had  been  taxed  to 
devise  a  series  of  treaties  with  a  view  to  an  ultimate  rupture, 
these  would  be  entitled  to  applause  as  specimens  of  diplomacy. 

There  is  a  perpetual  variation  between  the  spirit  and  the  letter 
of  every  treaty  ;  and  while  the  internal  independence  of  each 
State  is  the  groundwork,  it  is  frittered  away  and  nullified  by 
successive  stipulations,  and  these  positive  and  negative  qualities 
continue  mutually  repelling  each  other,  until  it  is  apparent  that 
independence  cannot  exist  under  such  conditions.  Wliere  dis- 
cipline is  lax,  as  with  these  feudal  associations,  and  where  each 
subordinate  vassal  is  master  of  his  own  retainers,  the  article  of 
military  contingents  alone  would  prove  a  source  of  contention. 
By  leading  to  interference  with  each  individual  chieftain,  it  would 
render  such  aid  worse  than  useless.  But  this  is  a  minor  con- 
sideration to  the  tributary  pecuniary  stipulation  which,  unsettled 
and  undetermined,  leaves  a  door  open  to  a  [123]  system  of  espionage 
into  their  revenue  accounts — a  system  not  only  disgusting,  but 
contrary  to  treaty,  which  leaves  '  internal  administration'  sacred. 
These  openings  to  dispute,  and  the  general  laxity  of  their 
governments  coming  in  contact  with  our  regular  system,  present 


THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES     147 

dangerous  handles  for  ambition  :  and  who  so  Wind  as  not  to  know 
that  ambition  to  be  distinguished  must  influence  every  viceregent 
in  the  East  ?  While  deeds  in  arms  and  acquisition  of  territory 
outweigh  the  meek  eclat  of  civil  virtue,  the  periodical  visitations 
to  these  kingdoms  will  ever  be  like  the  comet's, 

Foreboding  change  to  princes. 

Our  position  in  the  East  has  been,  and  continues  to  be,  one  in 
which  conquest  forces  herself  upon  us.  We  have  yet  the  power, 
however  late,  to  halt,  and  not  anticipate  her  further  orders  to 
march.  A  contest  for  a  mud-bank  has  carried  our  arms  to  the 
Aurea  Chersonesus,  the  limit  of  Ptolemy's  geography.  With  the 
Indus  on  the  left,  the  Brahmaputra  to  the  right,  the  Himalayan 
barrier  towering  like  a  giant  to  guard  the  Tatarian  ascent,  the 
ocean  and  our  ships  at  our  back,  such  is  our  colossal  attitude  ! 
But  if  misdirected  ambition  halts  not  at  the  Brahmaputra,  but 
plunges  in  to  gather  laurels  from  the  teak  forest  of  Arakan,  what 
surety  have  we  for  these  Hindu  States  placed  by  treaty  within 
the  grasp  of  our  control  ? 

But  the  hope  is  cherished,  that  the  same  generosity  which 
form.ed  those  ties  that  snatched  the  Rajputs  from  degradation 
and  impending  destruction,  will  maintain  the  pledge  given  in 
the  fever  of  success,  "  that  their  mdependence  should  be  sacred  "  ; 
that  it  will  palliate  faults  we  may  not  overlook,  and  perpetuate 
this  oasis  of  ancient  rule,  in  the  desert  of  destructive  revolution, 
of  races  whose  virtues  are  their  own,  and  whose  vices  are  the 
grafts  of  tyranny,  conquest,  and  religious  intolerance.^ 

To  make  them  known  is  one  step  to  obtain  for  them,  at  least, 
the  boon  of  sympathy  ;  for  with  the  ephemeral  poAver  of  our 
governors  and  the  agents  of  government,  is  it  to  be  expected  that 
the  rod  will  more  softly  fall  when  ignorance  of  their  history  pre- 
vails, and  no  kind  association  springs  from  a  knowledge  of  their 
martial  achievements  and  yet  proud  bearing,  their  generosity, 
courtesy,  and  extended  hospitality  ?  These  are  Rajput  virtues 
yet  extant  amidst  all  their  revolutions,  and  which  have  survived 
ages  of  Muhammadan  bigotry  and  power  ;  though  to  the  honour 
of  the  virtuous  and  magnanimous  few  among  the  crowned  heads 

^  [The  present  relations  of  the  States  to  the  Government  of  India  justify 
these  expectations.] 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

of  eight  centuries,  both  Tatar  and  Mogul,  there  were  some  great 
souls  [124]  ;  men  of  high  worth,  who  appeared  at  intervals  to 
redeem  the  oppression  of  a  whole  preceding  dynasty. 

The  high  ground  we  assumed,  and  the  lofty  sentiments  with 
which  we  introduced  ourselves  amongst  the  Rajputs,  arrogating 
motives  of  purity,  of  disinterested  benevolence,  scarcely  belonging 
to  humanity,  and  to  which  their  sacred  writings  alone  yielded  a 
parallel,  gave  such  exalted  notions  of  our  right  of  exerting  the 
attributes  of  divinity,  justice,  and  mercy,  that  they  expected 
little  less  than  almighty  wisdom  in  our  acts  ;  but  circumstances 
have  throughout  occurred  in  each  individual  State,  to  show  we 
were  mere  mortals,  and  that  the  poet's  moral  ; 

'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view, 

was  true  in  politics.  Sorrow  and  distrust  were  the  consequences 
— anger  succeeded  ;  but  the  sense  of  obligation  is  still  too  power- 
ful to  operate  a  stronger  and  less  generous  sentiment.  These 
errors  may  yet  be  redeemed,  and  our  Rajput  allies  yet  be  retained 
as  useful  friends  :  though  they  can  only  be  so  while  in  the  en- 
joyment of  perfect  internal  independence,  and  their  ancient 
institutions. 

"  No  political  institution  can  endure,"  observes  the  eloquent 
historian  of  the  Middle  Ages,  "  which  does  not  rivet  itself  to  the 
heart  of  men  by  ancient  prejudices  or  acknowledged  merit.  The 
feudal  compact  had  much  of  this  character.  In  fulfilling  the 
obligations  of  mutual  assistance  and  fidelity  by  military  service, 
the  energies  of  friendship  were  awakened,  and  the  ties  of  moral 
sympathy  superadded  to  those  of  positive  compact." 

We  shall  throw  out  one  of  the  assumed  causes  which  give 
stability  to  political  institutions  ;  '  acknowledged  merit,'  which 
never  belonged  to  the  loose  feucl^l  compact  of  Rajwara  ;  but  the 
absence  of  this  strengthens  the  necessary  substitute,  '  ancient 
prejudices,'  which  supply  many  defects. 

Our  anomalous  and  inconsistent  interference  in  some  cases, 
and  our  non-interference  in  others,  operate  alike  to  augment  the 
dislocation  induced  by  long  predatory  oppression  in  the  various 
orders  of  society,  instead  of  restoring  that  harmony  and  con- 
tinuity which  had  previously  existed.  The  great  danger,  nay, 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  perseverance  in  this  line  of  conduct, 
will  be  their  reduction  to  the  same  degradation  with  our  other 


THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES    149 

allies,   and   their   ultimate   incorporation   with   our  already   too 
extended  dominion  [125]. 

It  may  be  contended,  that  the  scope  and  tenor  of  these  alliances 
were  not  altogether  unfitted  for  the  period  when  they  were  formed, 
and  our  circumscribed  knowledge  ;  but  was  it  too  late,  when  this 
knowledge  was  extended,  to  purify  them  from  the  dross  which 
deteriorated  the  two  grand  principles  of  mutual  benefit,  on  which 
all  were  grounded,  viz.  '  perfect  internal  independence  '  to  them, 
and  '  acknowledged  supremacy  '  to  the  protecting  power  ?  It 
will  be  said,  that  even  these  corner-stones  of  the  grand  political 
fabric  are  far  from  possessing  those  durable  qualities  which  the 
contracting  parties  define,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  are 
the  Ormuzd  and  Alirimanes,  the  good  and  evil  principles  of  con- 
tention. But  when  we  have  superadded  pecuniary  engagements 
of  indefinite  extent,  increasing  in  the  ratio  of  their  prosperity, 
and  armed  quotas  or  contingents  of  their  troops,  whose  loose 
habits  and  discipline  would  ensure  constant  complaint,  we  may 
certainly  take  credit  for  having  established  a  system  which  must 
compel  that  direct  interference,  which  the  broad  principle  of  each 
treaty  professes  to  check. 

The  inevitable  consequence  is  the  perpetuation  of  that  de- 
nationalising principle,  so  well  understood  by  the  Mahrattas, 
'  divide  et  impera.'  We  are  few  ;  to  use  an  Oriental  metaphor, 
our  agents  must  '  use  the  eyes  and  ears  of  others.'  That  mutual 
dependence,  which  would  again  have  arisen,  our  interference  will 
completely  nullify.  Princes  will  find  they  can  oppress  their 
chiefs,  chiefs  will  find  channels  by  which  their  sovereign's  com- 
mands may  be  rendered  nugatory,  and  irresponsible  ministers 
must  have  our  support  to  raise  these  undefined  tributary  supplies  ; 
and  unanimity,  confidence,  and  all  the  sentiments  of  gratitude 
which  they  owe,  and  acknowledge  to  be  our  due,  will  gradually 
fade  with  the  national  degradation.  That  our  alliances  have  this 
tendency  cannot  be  disputed.  By  their  very  nature  they  transfer 
the  respect  of  every  class  of  subjects  from  their  immediate 
sovereign  to  the  paramount  authority  and  its  subordinate  agents. 
Who  will  dare  to  urge  that  a  government,  which  camiot  support 
its  internal  rule  without  restriction,  can  be  national  ?  that  with- 
out power  unshackled  and  unrestrained  by  exterior  council  or 
espionage,  it  can  maintain  self-respect,  the  corner-stone  of  every 
virtue  with  States  as  with  individuals  ?      This  first  of  feelings 


150  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

these  treaties  utterly  annihilate.  Can  we  suppose  such  denational- 
ised allies  are  to  be  depended  upon  in  emergencies  ?  or,  if  allowed 
to  retain  a  spark  of  their  ancient  moral  inheritance,  that  it  [126] 
will  not  be  kindled  into  a  flame  against  us  when  opportunity 
offers,  instead  of  lighting  up  the  powerful  feeling  of  gratitude 
which  yet  exists  towards  us  in  these  warlike  communities  ? 

Like  us  they  were  the  natural  foes  of  that  predatory  system 
which  so  long  disturbed  our  power,  and  our  preservation  and  theirs 
were  alike  consulted  in  its  destruction.  WTien  we  sought  their 
alliance,  we  spoke  in  the  captivating  accents  of  philanthropy  ; 
we  courted  them  to  disunite  from  this  Ahrimanes  of  political 
convulsion.  The  benevolent  motives  of  the  great  mover  of  these 
alliances  we  dare  not  call  in  question,  and  his  policy  coincided 
with  the  soundest  wisdom.  But  the  treaties  might  have  been 
revised,  and  the  obnoxious  parts  which  led  to  discord,  abrogated, 
at  the  expense  of  a  few  paltry  lacs  of  tribute  and  a  portion  of 
sovereign  homage.  It  is  not  yet  too  late.  True  policy  would 
enfranchise  them  altogether  from  our  alliance  ;  but  till  then  let 
them  not  feel  their  shackles  in  the  galling  restraint  on  each  internal 
operation.  Remove  that  millstone  to  national  prosperity,  the 
poignant  feeling  that  every  increased  bushel  of  corn  raised  in 
their  long-deserted  fields  must  send  its  tithe  to  the  British  gran- 
aries. Let  the  national  mind  recover  its  wonted  elasticity,  and 
they  wiU  again  attain  their  former  celebrity.  We  have  the  power 
to  advance  this  greatness,  and  make  it  and  its  result  our  own  ;  or, 
by  a  system  unworthy  of  Britain,  to  retard  and  even  quench  it 
altogether.^ 

Never  were  their  national  characteristics  so  much  endangered 
as  in  the  seducing  calm  which  folloAved  the  tempestuous  agita- 
tions in  which  they  had  so  long  floated  ;  doubtful,  to  use  their 
own  figurative  expression,  whether  '  the  gilt  of  our  friendship, 

•^  If  Lord  Hastings'  philanthropy,  which  rejoiced  in  snatching  these 
ancient  States  from  the  degradation  of  predatory  warfare,  expected  that  in 
four  short  years  order  should  rise  out  of  the  chaos  of  a  century,  and  "  was 
prepared  to  visit  with  displeasure  all  symptoms  of  internal  neglect,  arising 
from  supineness,  indifference,  or  concealed  ill-will  "  ;  if  he  signified  that 
"  government  would  take  upon  itself  the  task  of  restoring  order,"  and  that 
"  all  changes  "  on  this  score  "  would  be  demanded  and  rigidly  exacted  "  : 
in  fine,  that  "  such  arrangements  would  be  made  as  would  deprive  them 
of  the  power  of  longer  abusing  the  spirit  of  hberal  forbearance,  the  motives 
of  which  they  were  incapable  of  understanding  or  appreciating  "  ;  what 
have  they  to  hope  from  those  without  his  sympathies  ? 


THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES     151 

or  our  arms,'  were  fraught  with  greater  evil.  The  latter  they 
could  not  withstand  ;  though  it  must  never  be  lost  sight  of,  that, 
like  ancient  Rome  when  her  glory  was  fading,  we  use  '  the  arms 
of  the  barbarians  '  to  defend  our  conquests  against  them  !  Is 
the  mind  ever  stationary  ?  are  virtue  and  high  notions  to  be 
acquired  from  contact  and  example  ?  Is  there  no  mind  above 
tlie  level  of  £10  monthly  pay  in  all  the  native  legions  of  the  three 
presidencies  of  India  ?  no  Odoacer,  no  Sivaji,  [127]  again  to 
revive  ?  Is  the  book  of  knowledge  and  of  truth,  which  we  hold 
up,  only  to  teach  them  submission  and  perpetuate  their  weak- 
ness ?  Can  we  without  fresh  claims  expect  eternal  gratitude, 
and  must  we  not  rationally  look  for  reaction  in  some  grand  im- 
pulse, which,  by  furnishing  a  signal  instance  of  the  mutability 
of  power,  may  afford  a  lesson  for  the  benefit  of  posterity  ? 

Is  the  mantle  of  protection,  which  we  have  thrown  over  these 
warlike  races,  likely  to  avert  such  a  result  ?  It  might  certainly, 
if  imbued  with  all  those  philanthropic  feelings  for  which  we  took 
credit,  act  with  soporific  influence,  and  extinguish  the  embers  of 
international  animosity.  '  The  lion  and  the  lamb  were  to  drink 
from  the  same  fountain  '  ;  they  were  led  to  expect  the  holy 
Satya  Yug,  when  each  man  reposed  under  his  own  fig-tree,  which 
neither  strife  nor  envy  dared  approach. 

When  so  many  nations  are  called  upon,  in  a  period  of  great 
calamity  and  danger,  to  make  over  to  a  foreigner,  their  opposite 
in  everything,  their  superior  in  most,  the  control  of  their  forces 
in  time  of  war,  the  adjudication  of  their  disputes  in  time  of  peace, 
and  a  share  in  the  fruits  of  their  renovating  prosperity,  what  must 
be  the  result  ;  when  each  Rajput  may  hang  up  his  lance  in  the 
haU,  convert  his  sword  to  a  ploughshare,  and  make  a  basket  of 
his  buckler  ?  What  but  the  prostration  of  every  virtue  ?  It 
commences  with  the  basis  of  the  Rajput's — the  martial  virtues  ; 
extinguish  these  and  they  will  soon  cease  to  respect  themselves. 
Sloth,  low  cunning  and  meanness  will  follow.  Wliat  nation  ever 
maintained  its  character  that  devolved  on  the  stranger  the 
power  of  protection  !  To  be  great,  to  be  independent,  its  martial 
spirit  must  be  cherished  :  happy  if  within  the  bounds  of  modera- 
tion. Led  away  by  enthusiasm,  the  author  experienced  the 
danger  of  interference,  when  observing  but  one  side  of  the  picture 
— the  brilliant  lights  which  shone  on  their  long  days  of  darkness, 
not  calculating  the  shade  which  would  follow  the  sudden  glare. 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE  RAJPUT  TRIBES 

On  our  cessation  from  every  species  of  interference  alone 
depends  their  independence  or  their  amalgamation  —  a  crisis 
fraught  with  danger  to  our  overgrown  rule. 

Let  Alexander's  speech  to  his  veterans,  tired  oi  conquest  and 
refusing  to  cross  the  Hyphasis^  be  applied,  and  let  us  not  reckon 
too  strongly  on  our  empire  of  ojoinion  :  "  Fame  never  represents 
matters  truly  as  they  are,  but  on  the  contrary  magnifies  every- 
thing. This  is  evident  ;  for  our  o^vn  reputation  and  glory,  though 
founded  on  solid  truth,  is  yet  more  obliged  to  rumour  than 
reality."  ^ 

We  may  conclude  with  the  Macedonian  conqueror's  reasons 
for  showing  the  [128]  Persians  and  his  other  foreign  allies  so 
much  favour  :  "  The  possession  of  what  we  got  by  the  sword  is 
not  very  durable,  but  the  obligation  of  good  offices  is  eternal. 
If  we  have  a  mind  to  keep  Asia,  and  not  simply  pass  through  it. 
our  clemency  must  extend  to  them  also,  and  their  fidelity  wUl 
make  our  empire  everlasting.  As  for  ourselves,  we  have  more 
than  we  know  what  to  do  with,  and  it  must  be  an  insatiable, 
avaricious  temper  which  desires  to  continue  to  fill  what  already 
runs  over."  ^  [129] 

^  Quintus  Curtius,  lib.  ix.  [ii.  6]. 
2  Ibid.  Ub.  viii.  [viii.  27]. 


BOOK  III 
SKETCH  OF  A  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

CHAPTER    1 

Feudalism  in  Rajasthan. — It  is  more  than  doubtful  whether  any 
code  of  civil  or  criminal  jurisprudence  ever  existed  in  any  of 
these  principalities  ;  though  it  is  certain  that  none  is  at  this  day 
discoverable  in  their  archives.  But  there  is  a  martial  system 
peculiar  to  these  Rajput  States,  so  extensive  in  its  operation  as 
to  embrace  every  object  of  society.  This  is  so  analogous  to  the 
ancient  feudal  system  of  Europe,  that  I  have  not  hesitated  to 
hazard  a  comparison  between  them,  with  reference  to  a  period 
when  the  latter  was  yet  imperfect.  Long  and  attentive  observa- 
tion enables  me  to  give  this  outline  of  a  system,  of  which  there 
exists  Uttle  written  evidence.  Curiosity  originally,  and  subse- 
quently a  sense  of  public  duty  (lest  I  might  be  a  party  to  injustice), 
co-operated  in  inducing  me  to  make  myself  fully  acquainted  with 
the  minutiae  of  this  traditionary  theory  of  government  ;  and 
incidents,  apparently  trivial  in  themselves,  exposed  parts  of  a 
widely  -  extended  system,  which,  though  now  disjointed,  still 
continue  to  regulate  the  actions  of  extensive  communities,  and 
lead  to  the  inference,  that  at  one  period  it  must  have  attained  a 
certain  degree  of  perfection. 

Many  years  have  elapsed  since  I  first  entertained  these  opinions, 
long  before  any  connexion  existed  between  these  States  and  the 
British  Government  ;  when  their  geography  was  little  known  to 
us,  and  their  history  still  less  so.  At  that  period  I  frequently 
travelled  amongst  them  for  amusement,  making  these  objects 
subservient  thereto,  and  laying  the  result  freely  before  my  Govern- 

153 


154  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

ment.  I  had  [130]  abundant  sources  of  intelligence  to  guide  me 
in  forming  my  analogies  ;  Montesquieu,  Hume,  Millar,  Gibbon  ^  : 
but  I  sought  only  general  resemblances  and  lineaments  similar 
to  those  before  me.  A  more  perfect,  because  more  familiar 
picture,  has  since  appeared  by  an  author,^  who  has  drawn  aside 
the  veil  of  mystery  which  covered  the  subject,  owing  to  its  being 
till  then  but  imperfectly  understood.  I  compared  the  features  of 
Rajput  society  with  the  finished  picture  of  this  eloquent  writer, 
and  shall  be  satisfied  with  having  substantiated  the  claim  of  these 
tribes  to  participation  in  a  system,  hitherto  deemed  to  belong 
exclusively  to  Europe.  I  am  aware  of  the  danger  of  hypothesis, 
and  shall  advance  nothing  that  I  do  not  accompany  by  incon- 
testable proofs. 

The  Tribal  System. — The  leading  features  of  government 
amongst  semi -barbarous  hordes  or  civilized  independent  tribes 
must  have  a  considerable  resemblance  to  each  other.  In  the 
same  stages  of  society,  the  wants  of  men  must  everywhere  be 
similar,  and  wUl  produce  the  analogies  which  are  observed  to 
regulate  Tatar  hordes  or  German  tribes,  Caledonian  clans,  the 
Rajput  Kula  (race),  or  Jareja  Bhayyad  (brotherhood).  All  the 
countries  of  Europe  participated  in  the  system  we  denominate 
feudal  ;  and  we  can  observe  it,  in  various  degrees  of  perfection 
or  deterioration,  from  the  mountains  of  Caucasus  to  the  Indian 
Ocean.  But  it  requires  a  persevering  toil,  and  more  discriminat- 
ing judgement  than  I  possess,  to  recover  all  these  relics  of  civiliza- 
tion :  yet  though  time,  and  still  more  oppression,  have  veiled 
the  ancient  institutions  of  Mewar,  the  mystery  may  be  penetrated, 
and  will  discover  parts  of  a  system  worthy  of  being  rescued  from 
oblivion. 

Influence  of  Muhammadans  and  Mahrattas. — Mahratta  cunning, 
engrafted  on  Muhammadan  intolerance,  had  greatly  obscured 
tliese  institutions.  The  nation  itself  was  passing  rapidly  away : 
the  remnant  which  was  left  had  become  a  matter  of  calcula- 
tion, and  their  records  and  their  laws  partook  of  this  general 
decay.  The  nation  may  recover  ;  the  physical  frame  may  be 
renewed  ;  but  the  morale  of  the  society  must  be  recast.  In  this 
chaos  a  casual  observer  sees  nothing  to  attract  notice  ;  the  theory 
of  government  appears,  without  any  of  the  dignity  which  now 
marks  our  regular  system.  Whatever  does  exist  is  attributed 
1  Miscellaneous  Works,  vol.  iii.  ^  Hallam's  Middle  Ages. 


FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN  155 

to  fortuitous  causes — to  nothing  systematic  :  no  fixed  principle 
is  discerned,  and  none  is  admitted  ;  it  is  deemed,  a  mechanism 
witliout  a  plan.  Tliis  opinion  is  hasty.  Attention  to  distinctions, 
though  often  merely  nominal  [131],  will  aid  us  in  discovering  the 
outhnes  of  a  picture  which  must  at  some  period  have  been  more 
finished  ;  when  real  power,  unrestrained  by  foreign  influence, 
upheld  a  system,  the  plan  of  which  was  original.  It  is  in  these 
remote  regions,  so  little  known  to  the  Western  world,  and  where 
original  manners  lie  hidden  under  those  of  the  conquerors,  that 
we  may  search  for  the  germs  of  the  constitutions  of  European 
States.^  A  contempt  for  all  that  is  Asiatic  too  often  marks  our 
countrymen  in  the  East  :  though  at  one  period  on  record  the 
taunt  might  have  been  reversed. 

In  remarking  the  curious  coincidence  between  the  habits, 
notions,  and  governments  of  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  those 
of  Rajasthan,  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  we  should  conclude 
that  one  system  was  borrowed  from  the  other  ;  each  may,  in 
truth,  be  said  to  have  the  patriarchal  form  for  its  basis.  I  have 
sometimes  been  inclined  to  agree  with  the  definition  of  Gibbon, 
who  styles  the  system  of  our  ancestors  the  offspring  of  chance 
and  barbarism.  "  Le  systeme  feodal,  assemblage  monstriieux  de 
tant  de  parties  que  le  terns  et  I'hazard  ont  reunies,  nous  offre  im 
objet  tres  complique  :  pour  I'etudier  il  faut  le  decomposer."  ^ 
This  I  shall  attempt. 

The  form,  as  before  remarked,  is  truly  patriarchal  in  these 

^  It  is  a  liigli  gratification  to  be  su^jported  by  such  authority  as  M.  8t. 
Martin,  who,  in  his  Discours  sur  VOrigine  et  VHistoire  des  Arsacides,  thus 
speaks  of  the  system  of  government  termed  feudal,  which  I  contend  exists 
amongst  the  Rajputs  :  "  On  pensc  assez  generalement  que  cette  sorte  de 
gouvernemeat  qui  dominait  il  y  a  quelques  siecles,  et  qu'on  appelle  systeme 
feodal,  etait  particuliere  a  I'Europe,  et  que  c'est  dans  les  forets  de  la  Germanie 
qu'il  faut  en  chercher  I'origine.  Cependant,  si  au  heu  d'admettre  les  faits 
sans  les  discuter,  comme  il  arrive  trop  souvent,  on  examinait  un  peu  cette 
opinion,  eile  disparaitrait  devant  la  critique,  ou  du  moins  elle  se  modifierait 
singuherement ;  et  Ton  verrait  que,  si  c'est  des  forets  de  la  Germanie  que 
nous  avons  tire  le  gouvernement  feodal,  il  ii'en  est  certainement  pas  originaire. 
Si  Ton  veut  comparer  I'Europe,  telle  qu'eUe  etait  au  xii"  siecle,  avec  la 
monarchie  fondee  en  Asie  par  les  Arsacides  trois  siecles  avant  notre  ere, 
partout  on  verra  des  institutions  et  des  usages  pareils.  On  y  trouvera  les 
memes  dignites,  et  jusqu'aux  memes  titres,  etc.,  etc.  Boire,  chasser,  com- 
battre,  faire  et  dcfaire  des  rois,  c'etaient  la  les  nobles  occupations  d'uu 
Parthe  "  {Journal  Asiatique,  vol.  i.  p.  65).     It  is  nearly  so  with  the  Rajput. 

-  Gibbon,  Miscell.  vol.  iii.  Du  gouvernement  feodal. 


156  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

States,  where  the  greater  portion  of  the  vassal  chiefs,  from  the 
highest  of  the  sixteen  peers  to  the  holders  of  a  charsa  ^  of  land, 
claim  affinity  in  blood  to  the  sovereign.^ 

The  natural  seeds  are  implanted  in  every  soil,  but  the  tree  did 
not  gain  [132]  maturity  except  in  a  favoured  aspect.  The  jDcr- 
fection  of  the  system  in  England  is  due  to  the  Normans,  who 
brought  it  from  Scandinavia,  whither  it  was  probably  conveyed 
by  Odin  and  the  Sacasenae,  or  by  anterior  migrations,  from  Asia  : 
which  would  coincide  with  Richardson's  hypothesis,  who  con- 
tends that  it  was  introduced  from  Tatary.  Although  speculative 
reasoning  forms  no  part  of  my  plan,  yet  when  I  observe  analogy 
on  the  subject  in  the  customs  of  the  ancient  German  tribes,  the 
Franks  or  Gothic  races,  I  shall  venture  to  note  them.  Of  one 
thing  there  is  no  doubt — knowledge  must  have  accompanied  the 
tide  of  migration  from  the  east  :  and  from  higher  Asia  emerged 
in  the  Asi,  the  Chatti,  and  the  Cimbric  Lombard;  who  spread 
the  system  in  Scandinavia,  Friesland,  and  Italy. 

Origin  of  Feuds. — "  It  has  been  very  common,"  says  the 
enlightened  historian  of  the  Feudal  System  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
"  to  seek  for  the  origin  of  feuds,  or  at  least  for  analogies  to  them, 
in  the  history  of  various  countries  ;  but  though  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  trace  the  similarity  of  customs  in  different  parts  of 
the  world,  we  should  guard  against  seeming  analogies,  which 
vanish  away  when  they  are  closely  observed.  It  is  easy  to  find 
partial  resemblances  to  the  feudal  system.  The  relation  of  patron 
and  client  in  the  republic  of  Rome  has  been  deemed  to  resemble 
it,  as  well  as  the  barbarians  and  veterans  who  held  frontier  lands 
on  the  tenure  of  defending  them  and  the  frontier  ;   but  they  were 

^  A  '  skin  or  hyde.'  Millar  (chap.  v.  p.  85)  defines  a  '  hyde  of  land,' 
the  quantity  which  can  be  cultivated  by  a  single  plough.  A  charsa,  '  skin 
or  hyde  '  of  land,  is  as  much  as  one  man  can  water  ;  and  what  one  can 
water  is  equal  to  what  one  i)lough  can  cultivate.  If  irrigation  ever  had 
existence  by  the  founders  of  the  system,  we  may  suppose  this  the  meaning 
of  the  term  which  designated  a  knighfs  fee.  It  may  have  gone  westward 
with  emigration.  [The  English  '  hide  '  :  ''  the  amount  considered  adequate 
for  the  supjDort  of  one  free  family  with  its  dependants  :  at  an  early  date 
defined  as  being  as  much  land  as  could  be  tilled  by  one  plough  in  a  year," 
has  no  connexion  with  '  hide,'  '  a  skin.'  It  is  O.E.  Md,  from  hitv,  hig, 
'  household."     '  Hide,'  '  a  skin,'  is  O.E.  hyd  {New  English  Diet,  ssv.).] 

"  Bapji,  '  sire,'  is  the  appellation  of  royalty,  and,  strange  enough, 
whether  to  male  or  female  ;  while  its  offsets,  which  form  a  numerous  branch 
of  vassals,  are  called  babas,  '  the  infants.' 


FEUDAE  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN  157 

bound  not  to  an  individual,  but  to  the  state.  Such  a  resemblance 
of  fiefs  may  be  found  in  the  Zamindars  of  Hindustan  and  the 
Timariots  of  Turke}-.  The  clans  of  the  Highlanders  and  Irish 
followed  their  chieftain  into  the  field  :  but  their  tie  was  that  of 
imagined  kindred  and  birth,  not  the  spontaneous  compact  of 
vassalage."  ^ 

I  give  this  at  length  to  show,  that  if  I  still  persist  in  deeming 
the  Rajput  system  a  pure  relation  of  feuds,  I  have  before  my  eyes 
the  danger  of  seeming  resemblances.  But  grants,  deeds,  charters, 
and  traditions,  copies  of  all  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix, 
will  establish  my  opinions.  I  hope  to  prove  that  the  tribes  in  the 
northern  regions  of  Hindustan  did  possess  the  system,  and  that 
it  was  handed  down,  and  still  obtains,  notwithstanding  seven 
centuries  of  paramount  sway  of  the  Mogul  and  Pathan  dynasties, 
altogether  opposed  to  them  except  in  this  feature  of  government 
where  there  was  an  original  similarity.  In  some  of  these  States 
— ^those  least  affected  by  conquest — the  system  remained  freer 
from  innovation.  It  is,  however,  from  INIewar  chiefly  that  I  shall 
deduce  my  examples,  as  its  internal  [133]  rule  was  less  influenced 
by  foreign  policy,  even  to  the  period  at  which  the  imperial  power 
of  Delhi  Avas  on  the  decline. 

Evidence  from  Mewar. — As  in  Europe,  for  a  length  of  time, 
traditionary  custom  was  the  only  regulator  of  the  rights  and 
tenures  of  this  system,  varying  in  each  State,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  (in  its  minor  details)  in  the  different  provinces  of  one 
State,  according  to  their  mode  of  acquisition  and  the  description 
of  occupants  when  required.  It  is  from  such  circumstances  that 
the  variety  of  tenure  and  customarj^  law  proceeds.  To  account 
for  this  variety,  a  knowledge  of  them  is  requisite  ;  nor  is  it  until 
every  part  of  the  system  is  developed  that  it  can  be  fully  under- 
stood. The  most  trifling  cause  is  discovered  to  be  the  parent  of 
some  important  result.  If  ever  these  were  embodied  into  a  code 
(and  we  are  justified  in  assuming  such  to  have  been  the  case), 
the  varied  revolutions  which  have  swept  away  almost  all  relics 
of  their  history  were  not  likely  to  spare  these.  ISIention  is  made 
of  several  princes  of  the  house  of  Mewar  who  legislated  for  their 
country  ;  but  precedents  for  every  occurring  case  lie  scattered 
in  formulas,  grants,  and  traditionary  sayings.  The  inscriptions 
still  existing  on  stone  would  alone,  if  collected,  form  a  body  of 
^  Hallam's  Middle  Ages,  vol.  i.  ]i.  200. 


158  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RA/ASTHAN 

laws  sufficient  for  an  infant  community  ;  and  these  were  always 
first  committed  to  writing,  and  registered  ere  the  column  was 
raised.  The  seven  centuries  of  turmoil  and  disaster,  during  which 
these  States  were  in  continual  strife  with  the  foe,  produced  many 
princes  of  high  intellect  as  w^ell  as  valour.  Sanga  Rana,  and  his 
antagonist.  Sultan  IJabur,  v/ei'c  revived  in  their  no  less  celebrated 
grandsons,  the  great  Akhar  and  Rana  Partap  :  the  son  of  the 
latter,  Amra,  the  foe  of  Jahangir,  was  a  character  of  whom  the 
proudest  nation  might  be  vain. 

Evidence  from  Inscriptions.^ — The  pen  has  recorded,  and  tradi- 
tion handed  down,  many  isolated  fragments  of  the  genius  of  these 
Rajput  princes,  as  statesmen  and  warriors,  touching  the  political 
division,  regulations  of  the  aristocracy,  and  commercial  and 
agricultural  bodies.  Sumptuary  laws,  even,  which  append  to  a 
feudal  system,  are  to  be  traced  in  these  inscriptions  :  the  annul- 
ling of  monopolies  and  exorbitant  taxes  ;  the  regulation  of  transit 
duties  ;  prohibition  of  profaning  sacred  days  by  labour  ;  im- 
inunities,  privileges,  and  charters  to  trades,  corporations,  and 
towns  ;  such  as  would,  in  climes  more  favourable  to  liberty,  have 
matured  into  a  league,  or  obtained  for  these  branches  a  voice  in 
the  coimcils  of  the  State.  My  search  for  less  perishable  docu- 
ments than  parchment  when  I  found  the  cabinet  of  the  prince 
contained  them  not,  was  unceasing  ;  but  though  the  bigoted 
Muhammadan  destroyed  [134]  most  of  the  traces  of  civilization 
within  his  reach,  perseverance  was  rewarded  with  a  considerable 
number.  They  are  at  least  matter  of  curiosity.  They  will 
evince  that  monopolies  and  restraints  on  commerce  were  well 
understood  in  Rajvt^ara,  though  the  doctrines  of  political  economy 
never  gained  footing  there.  The  setting  up  oi  these  engraved 
tablets  or  pillars,  called  Seoras,^  is  of  the  highest  antiquity. 
Every  subject  commences  with  invoking  the  sun  and  moon  as 
witnesses,  and  concludes  with  a  denunciation  of  the  severest 
penalties  on  those  who  break  the  spirit  of  the  imperishable  bond. 
Tablets  of  an  historical  nature  I  have  of  twelve  and  fourteen 
hundred  years'  antiquity,  but  of  grants  of  land  or  privileges 
about  one  thousand  years  is  the  oldest.  Time  has  destroyed 
many,  but  man  more.  They  became  more  numerous  during  the 
last  three  centuries,  when  successful  struggles  against  their  foes 
produced  new,  privileges,  granted  in  order  to  recall  the  scattered 
^  Sanskrit,  Silla. 


EVIDENCE  FROM  INSCRIPTIONS  159 

inhabitants.  Thus  one  contains  an  abolition  of  the  monopoly  of 
tobacco  ;  ^  another,  the  remission  of  tax  on  printed  cloths,  with 
permission  to  the  country  manufacturers  to  sell  their  goods  free 
of  duty  at  the  neighbouring  tov/ns.  To  a  tliird,  a  mercantile 
city,  the  abolition  of  war  contributions,^  and  the  establishment 
of  its  internal  judicial  authority.  Nay,  even  where  good  manners 
alone  are  concerned,  the  lawgiver  appears,  and  with  an  amusing 
simplicity  :  ^  "  From  the  public  feast  none  shall  attempt  to  carry 
anything  away."  "  None  shall  eat  after  sunset,"  shows  that  a 
Jain  obtained  the  edict.  To  yoke  the  bullock  or  other  animal  for 
any  work  on  the  sacred  Amavas,*  is  also  declared  pimishable. 
Others  contain  revocations  of  vexatious  fees  to  officers  of  the 
crown  ;  "of  beds  and  quilts  ^  "  ;  "  the  seizure  of  the  carts,  imple- 
ments, or  cattle  of  the  husbandmen,"  ^ — the  sole  boon  in  our  own 
Magna  Charta  demanded  for  the  husbandman.  These  and  several 
others,  of  which  copies  are  annexed,  need  not  be  repeated.  If 
even  from  such  memoranda  a  sufficient  number  could  be  collected 
of  each  prince's  reign  up  to  the  olden  time,  what  more  could  we 
desire  to  enable  us  to  judge  of  the  genius  of  their  princes,  the 
wants  and  habits  of  the  people,  their  acts  and  occupations  ? 
The  most  ancient  written  customary  law  of  France  is  a.d.  1088,^ 
at  which  time  Mewar  was  in  high  [135]  prosperity  ;  opposing,  at 
the  head  of  a  league  far  more  powerful  than  France  could  form 
for  ages  after,  the  progress  of  revolution  and  foreign  conquest. 
Ignorance,  sloth,  and  all  the  \aces  which  wait  on  and  result  from 
continual  oppression  in  a  perpetual  struggle  for  existence  of  ages' 
duration,  graduallj^  diminished  the  reverence  of  the  inhabitants 
themselves  for  these  relics  of  the  wisdom  of  their  forefathers. 
In  latter  years,  they  so  far  forgot  the  ennobling  feeling  and  respect 
for  '  the  stone  which  told  '  their  once  exalted  condition,  as  to 
convert  the  materials  of  the  temple  in  which  many  of  these  stood 
into  places  of  abode.  Thus  many  a  valuable  relic  is  built  up  in 
the  castles  of  their  barons,  or  buried  in  the  rubbish  of  the  fallen 
pile. 

^  See  Appendix,  No.  XII.  2  g^g  Appendix,  No.  XIII. 

'  See  Appendix,  No.  XIV. 

*  '  Full  moon  '  (See  Appendix,  No.  XIII.). 

^  It  is  customary,  when  officers  of  the  Government  are  detached  on 
service,  to  exact  from  the  towns  where  they  are  sent  both  bed  and  board. 

*  Seized  for  pubhc  service,  and  frequently  to  exact  a  composition  in 
money.  7  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  197. 


160  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

Books  oJ  Grants. — We  have,  however,  the  books  of  grants  to  the 
chiefs  and  vassals,  and  also  the  grand  rent-roll  of  the  country. 
These  are  of  themselves  valuable  documents.  Could  we  but 
obtain  those  of  remoter  periods,  they  would  serve  as  a  comment- 
ary on  the  history  of  the  country,  as  each  contains  the  detail  of 
every  estate,  and  the  stipulated  service,  in  horse  and  foot,  to  be 
performed  for  it.  In  later  times,  when  turbulence  and  disaffec- 
tion went  unpunished,  it  was  useless  to  specify  a  stipulation  of 
service  that  was  nugatory  ;  and  too  often  the  grants  contained 
but  the  names  of  towns  and  villages,  and  their  value  ;  or  if  they 
had  the  more  general  terms  of  service,  none  of  its  details.^  From 
all  these,  however,  a  sufficiency  of  customary  rules  could  easily 
be  found  to  form  the  written  law  of  fiefs  in  Rajasthan.  In 
France,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  variety  of  these  customs 
amounted  to  two  hundred  and  eighty-five,  of  which  only  sixty  ^ 
were  of  great  importance.  The  number  of  consequence  in  Mewar 
which  have  come  to  my  observation  is  considerable,  and  the  most 
important  will  be  given  in  the  Appendix.  Were  the  same  plan 
pursued  there  as  in  that  ordinance  which  produced  the  laws  of 
Pays  Coutumiers  ^  of  France,  viz.  ascertaining  those  of  each 
district,  the  materials  are  ready. 

Such  a  collection  would  be  amusing,  particularly  if  the  tradi- 
tionary were  added  to  the  engraved  laws.  They  would  often 
appear  jejune,  and  might  involve  contradictions  ;  but  wc  should 
see  the  wants  of  the  people  ;  and  if  ever  our  connexion  (which  God 
forbid  !)  should  be  drawn  closer,  we  could  then  legislate  without 
offending  national  customs  or  religious  prejudices.  Could  this, 
by  any  instinctive  [136]  impulse  or  external  stimulus,  be  effected 
by  themselves,  it  would  be  the  era  of  their  emersion  from  long 
oppression,  and  might  lead  to  better  notions  of  government,  and 
consequent  happiness  to  them  all. 

Noble  Origin  of  the  Rajput  Race. — If  we  compare  the  antiquity 
and  illustrious  descent  of  the  dynasties  which  have  ruled,  and 
some  which  continue  to  rule,  the  small  sovereignties  of  Rajasthan, 
with  many  of  celebrity  in  Europe,  superiority  will  often  attach 
to  the  Rajput.  From  the  most  remote  periods  we  can  trace 
nothing  ignoble,  nor  any  vestige  of  vassal  origin.     Reduced  in 

^  Some  of  these,  of  old  date,  I  have  seen  three  feet  in  length. 

2  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  199. 

'  HallaTn  notices  these  laws  by  this  technical  plirase. 


THE  RATHORS,  KACHirVVAHAS  161 

power,  circumscribed  in  territory,  compelled  to  yield  much  of 
their  splendour  and  many  of  the  dignities  of  birth,  they  have  not 
abandoned  an  iota  of  the  pride  and  high  bearing  arismg  from  a 
knowledge  of  their  illustrious  and  regal  descent.  On  this  prin- 
ciple the  various  revolutions  in  the  Rana's  family  never  en- 
croached ;  and  the  mighty  Jahangir  himself,  the  Emperor  of  the 
Moguls,  became,  like  Caesar,  the  commentator  on  the  history  of 
the  tribe  of  Sesodia.^  The  potentate  of  the  twenty-two  Satrapies 
of  Hind  dwells  with  proud  complacency  on  this  Rajput  king 
having  made  terms  with  him.  He  praises  heaven,  that  what 
his  immortal  ancestor  Babur,  the  founder  of  the  Mogul  dynasty, 
failed  to  do,  the  project  in  which  Hmnayun  had  also  failed,  and 
in  which  the  illustrious  Akbar,  his  father,  had  but  partial  success, 
was  reserved  for  him.  It  is  pleasing  to  peruse  in  the  comment- 
aries of  these  conquerors,  Babur  and  Jahangir,  their  sentiments 
with  regard  to  these  princes.  We  have  the  evidence  of  Sir 
Thomas  Roe,  the  ambassador  of  Elizabeth  to  Jahangir,  as  to  the 
splendour  of  this  race  :  it  appears  throughout  their  annals  and 
those  of  their  neighbours. 

The  Rathors  of  Marwar. — The  Rathors  can  boast  a  splendid 
pedigree  ;  and  if  we  cannot  trace  its  source  with  equal  certainty 
to  such  a  period  of  antiquity  as  the  Rana's,  we  can,  at  all  events, 
show  the  Rathor  monarch  wielding  the  sceptre  at  Kanauj,  at  the 
time  the  leader  of  an  unknown  tribe  of  the  Franks  was  paving 
the  way  towards  the  foundation  of  the  future  kingdom  of  France. 
Unwieldy  greatness  caused  the  sudden  fall  of  Kanauj  in  the 
twelfth  century,  of  which  the  existing  line  of  Marwar  is  a  renov- 
ated scion  .^ 

The  Kachhwahas  oJ  Amber. — Amber  is  a  branch  of  the  once 
illustrious  and  ancient  [137]  Nishadha.  now  Narwar,  Avhich  pro- 
duced the  ill-fated  prince  whose  story  ^  is  so  interesting.  Revolu- 
tion and  conquest  compelled  them  to  quit  their  ancestral  abodes. 
Hindustan  was  then  divided  into  no  more  than  four  great  king- 
doms.    By  Arabian  *  travellers  we  have  a  confused  picture  of 

^  Sesodia  is  the  last  change  of  name  which  the  Rana's  race  has  under- 
gone. It  was  first  Suryavansa,  then  Grahilot  or  Guhilot,  Aharj'^a,  and 
Sesodia.     These  changes  arise  from  revolutions  and  local  circumstances. 

2  [The  Rathor  dynasty  of  Kanauj  is  a  myth  (Smith,  EHI,  385).] 

^  Nala  and  Damayanti. 

*  Relations  anciemtes  des  Voyageurs,  par  Renaudot. 
VOL.  I  M 


162  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

these  States.  But  all  the  minor  States,  now  existing  in  the  west, 
arose  about  the  period  when  the  feudal  system  was  approaching 
maturity  in  France  and  England. 

The  others  are  less  illustrious,  being  the  descendants  of  the 
great  vassals  of  their  ancient  kings. 

The  Sesodias  of  Mewar. — Mewar  exhibits  a  marked  difference 
from  all  the  other  States  in  her  policy  and  institutions.  She  was 
an  old-established  dynasty  when  these  renovated  scions  were  in 
embryo.  We  can  trace  the  losses  of  Mewar,  but  with  difficulty 
her  acquisitions  ;  while  it  is  easy  to  note  the  gradual  aggrandise- 
ment of  Marwar  and  Amber,  and  all  the  minor  States.  Marwar 
was  composed  of  many  petty  States,  whose  ancient  possessions 
formed  an  allodial  vassalage  under  the  new  dynasty.  A  superior 
independence  of  the  control  of  the  prince  arises  from  the  peculiar- 
ity of  the  mode  of  acquisition  ;  that  is,  with  rights  similar  to  the 
allodial  vassals  of  the  European  feudal  system. 

Pride  of  Ancestry. — The  poorest  Rajput  of  this  day  retains  all 
the  pride  of  ancestry,  often  his  sole  inheritance  ;  he  scorns  to 
hold  the  plough,  or  to  use  his  lance  but  on  horseback.  In  these 
aristocratic  ideas  he  is  supported  by  his  reception  amongst  his 
superiors,  and  the  respect  paid  to  him  by  his  interiors.  The 
honours  and  privileges,  and  the  gradations  of  rank,  amongst  the 
vassals  of  the  Rana's  house,  exhibit  a  highly  artificial  and  refined 
state  of  society.  Each  of  the  superior  rank  is  entitled  to  a  banner, 
kettle-drums  preceded  by  heralds  and  silver  maces,  with  peculiar 
gifts  and  personal  honours,  in  commemoration  of  some  exploit 
of  their  ancestors. 

Armorial  Bearings. — The  martial  Rajputs  are  not  strangers 
to  armorial  bearings,^  now  so  indiscriminately  used  in  Europe. 

^  It  is  generally  admitted  that  armorial  bearings  were  little  known  till 
the  period  of  the  Crusades,  and  that  they  belong  to  the  east.  The  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel  were  distinguished  by  the  animals  on  their  banners,  and 
the  sacred  writings  frequently  allude  to  the  '  Lion  of  Judah.'  The  peacock 
was  a  favourite  armorial  emblem  of  the  Rajput  warrior ;  it  is  the  bird 
sacred  to  their  Mars  (Kumara),  as  it  was  to  Juno,  his  mother,  in  the  west. 
The  feather  of  the  peacock  decorates  the  turban  of  the  Rajput  and  the 
warrior  of  the  Crusade,  adopted  from  the  Hindu  through  the  Saracens. 
"Le  paon  a  toujours  ete  I'embleme  de  la  noblesse.  Plusieurs  chevaliers 
ornaient  leurs  casques  des  plumes  de  cet  oiseau  ;  un  grand  nombre  de 
families  nobles  le  portaient  dans  leur  blazon  ou  sur  leur  cimier  ;  quelques- 
uns  n'en  portaient  que  la  qtieue "  (Art.  "Armoiric,"  Diet,  de  Vancien 
Regime). 


TRIBAL  PALLADIUM  :  BANNERS  1G3 

The  great  banner  of  Mewar  exhibits  a  golden  sun  [1 38]  on  a  crimson 
field  ;  those  of  the  chiefs  bear  a  dagger.  Amber  displays  the 
panchranga,  or  five-coloured  flag.  The  lion  rampant  on  an 
argent  field  is  extinct  with  the  State  of  Chanderi.^ 

In  Europe  these  customs  were  not  introduced  till  the  period 
of  the  Crusades,  and  were  copied  from  the  Saracens  ;  while  the 
use  of  them  amongst  the  Rajput  tribes  can  be  traced  to  a  period 
anterior  to  the  war  of  Troy.  In  the  Mahabharat,  or  great  war, 
twelve  hundred  years  before  Christ,  we  find  the  hero  Bhishma 
exulting  over  his  trophy,  the  banner  of  Arjuna,  its  field  adorned 
with  the  figure  of  the  Indian  Hanuman.^  These  emblems  had  a 
religious  reference  amongst  the  Hindus,  and  were  taken  from  their 
mythology,  the  origin  of  all  devices. 

The  Tribal  Palladium. — Every  royal  house  has  its  palladium, 
which  is  frequently  borne  to  battle  at  the  saddle-bow  of  the 
prince.  Rao  Bhima  Hara,  of  Kotah,  lost  his  life  and  protecting 
deity  together.  The  late  celebrated  Khichi '  leader,  Jai  Singh, 
never  took  the  field  without  the  god  before  him.  '  Victory  to 
Bajrang  '  was  his  signal  for  the  charge  so  dreaded  by  the  Mahratta, 
and  often  has  the  deity  been  sprinkled  with  his  blood  and  that  of 
the  foe.  Their  ancestors,  who  opposed  Alexander,  did  the  same, 
and  carried  the  image  of  Hercules  (Baldeva)  at  the  head  of  their 
array.* 

Banners. — The  custom  (says  Arrian)  of  presenting  banners  as 
an  emblem  of  sovereignty  over  vassals,  also  obtained  amongst 
the  tribes  of  the  Indus  when  invaded  by  Alexander.  When  he 
conquered  the  Saka  and  tribes  east  of  the  Caspian,  he  divided 
the  provinces  amongst  the  princes  of  the  ancient  families,  for 
which  they  paid  homage,  engaged  to  serve  with  a  certain  quota 
of  troops,  and  received  from  his  own  hand  a  banner  ;  in  all  of 
which  he  followed  the  customs  of  the  country.  But  in  these  we 
see  only  the  outline  of  the  system;  we  must  descend  to  more 

^  I  was  the  first  European  who  traversed  this  wild  country,  in  1807,  not 
without  some  hazard.  It  was  then  independent :  about  three  years  after 
it  fell  a  prey  to  Sindhia.  [Several  ancient  dynasties  used  a  crest  (lanchhana), 
and  a  banner  (dhvaja)  :  see  the  list  in  BO,  i.  Part  ii.  299.] 

2  The  monkey-deity.  [Known  as  Bajrang,  Skt.  vajranga,  '  of  powerful 
frame.'] 

*  The  Khichis  are  a  branch  of  the  Chauhans,  and  Khiehiwara  lies  east  of 
Haravati. 

*  [Quintus  Curtius,  viii.  14,  46  ;  Arrian,  Indika,  viii.] 


164  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

modern  days  to  observe  it  more  minutely.  A  grand  picture  is 
drawn  of  the  power  of  Mewar,  when  the  first  grand  irruption  of 
the  Muhammadans  occurred  in  the  first  century  of  their  era  ; 
when  "  a  hundred  ^  kings,  its  alUes  and  dependents,  had  their 
thrones  raised  in  Chitor,"  for  its  defence  and  their  own  individu- 
ally [139],  when  a  new  religion,  propagated  by  the  sword  of  con- 
quest, came  to  enslave  these  realms.  This  invasion  was  by 
Sind  and  Makran  ;  for  it  was  half  a  century  later  ere  '  the  light  ' 
shone  from  the  heights  of  Pamir  ^  on  the  plains  of  the  Jumna  and 
Ganges, 

From  the  commencement  of  this  religious  war  in  the  moun- 
tains westward  of  the  Indus,  many  ages  elapsed  ere  the  '  King  of 
the  Faith  '  obtained  a  seat  on  the  throne  of  Yudhishthira.  Chand, 
the  bard,  has  left  us  various  valuable  memorials  of  this  period, 
applicable  to  the  subject  historically  as  well  as  to  the  immediate 
topic.  Visaladeva,  the  monarch  whose  name  appears  on  the 
pillar  of  victory  at  Delhi,  led  an  army  against  the  invader,  in 
which,  according  to  the  bard,  "  the  banners  of  eighty-four  princes 
were  assembled."  The  bard  describes  with  great  animation  the 
summons  sent  for  this  magnificent  feudal  levy  from  the  heart  of 
Antarbedi,*  to  the  shores  of  the  western  sea,  and  it  coincides  with 
the  record  of  his  victory,  which  most  probably  this  very  army 
obtained  for  him.  But  no  finer  picture  of  feudal  manners  exists 
than  the  history  of  Prithwiraja,  contained  in  Chand's  poems. 
It  is  surprising  that  this  epic  should  have  been  allowed  so  long 
to  sleep  neglected  :  a  thorough  knowledge  of  it,  and  of  others  of 
the  same  character,  would  open  many  sources  of  new  knowledge, 
and  enable  us  to  trace  many  curious  and  interesting  coin- 
cidences.* 

^  See  Annals  of  Mewar,  and  note  from  D'AnviUe. 

^  The  Pamir  range  is  a  grand  branch  of  the  Indian  Caucasus.  Chand, 
the  bard,  designates  them  as  the  "  Parbat  Pat  Pamir,"  or  Pamir  Lord  of 
Mountains.  From  Pahar  and  Pamir  the  Greeks  may  have  compounded 
Paropanisos,  in  which  was  situated  the  most  remote  of  the  Alexandrias.    [?] 

*  The  space  between  the  grand  rivers  Ganges  and  Jumna,  well  known 
as  the  Duab. 

*  Domestic  habits  and  national  manners  are  painted  to  the  hfe,  and  no 
man  can  well  understand  the  Rajput  of  yore  who  does  not  read  these. 
Those  were  the  days  of  chivalry  and  romance,  when  the  assembled  princes 
contended  for  the  hand  of  the  fair,  who  chose  her  own  lord,  and  threw  to 
the  object  of  her  choice,  in  full  court,  the  barmala,  or  garland  of  marriage. 
Those  were  the  days  which  the  Rajput  yet  loves  to  talk  of,  when  the  glance 


INFLUENCE  OF   CASTE  .  165 

In  perusing  these  tales  of  the  days  that  are  past,  we  should  be 
induced  to  conclude  that  the  Kuriltai  of  the  Tatars,  the  Chaugan 
of  the  Rajput,  and  the  Champ  de  Mars  of  the  Frank,  had  one 
common  origin. 

Influence  of  Caste. — Caste  has  for  ever  prevented  the  inferior 
classes  of  society  from  being  incorporated  with  this  haughty 
noblesse.  Only  those  of  jjure  blood  in  both  lines  can  hold  fiefs 
of  the  crown.  The  highest  may  marry  the  daughter  of  a  Rajput, 
whose  sole  [140]  possession  is  a  '  skin  of  land  '  :  ^  the  sovereign 
himself  is  not  degraded  by  such  alliance.  There  is  no  moral  blot, 
and  the  operation  of  a  law  like  the  Salic  would  prevent  any 
political  evil  resulting  therefrom.  Titles  are  granted,  and  even 
fiefs  of  office,  to  ministers  and  civil  servants  not  Rajputs  ;  they 
are,  however,  but  official,  and  never  confer  hereditary  right. 
These  official  fiefs  may  have  originally  arisen,  here  and  in  Europe, 
from  the  same  cause  ;  the  want  of  a  circulating  medium  to  pay  the 
offices.  The  Mantris  -  of  Mewar  prefer  estates  to'  pecuniary 
stipend,  which  gives  more  consequence  in  every  point  of  view. 
All  the  higher  offices — as  cup-bearer,  butler,  stewards  of  the 
household,  wardrobe,  kitchen,  master  of  the  horse — aU  these  are 
enumerated  as  ininisterialists  ^  at  the  court  of  Charlemagne  in 
the  dark  ages  of  Europe,  and  of  whom  we  have  the  duplicates. 
These  are  what  the  author  of  the  Middle  Ages  designates  as 
"  improper  feuds..''  *  In  Mewar  the  prince's  architect,  painter, 
physician,  bard,  genealogist,  heralds,  and  all  the  generation  of 
the  foster-brothers,  hold  lands.  Offices  are  hereditary  in  this 
patriarchal  government  ;  their  services  personal.  The  title 
even  appends  to  the  family,  and  if  the  chance  of  events  deprive 
them  of  the  substance,  they  are  seldom  left  destitute.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  see  three  or  four  with  the  title  of  pardhan  or 
premier.^ 


of  an  eye  weighed  with  a  sceptre  :   when  three  things  alone  occupied  him  : 
his  horse,  his  lance,  and  his  mistress  ;  for  she  is  but  the  third  in  his  estima- 
tion, after  all :  to  the  two  first  he  owed  her. 
^  Charsa,  a  '  hide  or  skin  '  [see  p.  156  above]. 

*  '  Ministers,'  from  Mantra,  '  mystification  '  ['  a  sacred  text,  spell ']. 

'  It  is  probably  of  Teutonic  origin,  and  akin  to  Mantri,  which  embraces 
all  the  ministers  and  councillors  of  loyalty  (Hallam,  p.  195).     [?] 

*  Hallam,  p.  193. 

*  One  I  know,  in  whose  family  the  office  has  remained  since  the  period 
of  Prithvviraja,  who  transferred  his  ancestor  to  the  service  of  the  Rana's 


166  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

But  before  I  proceed  further  in  these  desultory  and  general 
remarks,  I  shall  commence  the  chief  details  of  the  system  as 
described  in  times  past,  and,  in  part,  still  obtaining  in  the 
principality  of  the  Rana  of  Mewar  As  its  geography  and 
distribution  are  fully  related  in  their  proper  place,  I  must 
refer  the  reader  to  that  for  a  preliminary  understanding  of  its 
localities.  >k. 

Estates  of  Chief  and  Fiscal  Land. — The  local  disposition  of  the 
estates  was  admirably  contrived.  Bounded  on  three  sides,  the 
south,  east,  and  west,  by  marauding  barbarous  tribes  of  Bhils, 
Mers,  and  Minas,  the  circumference  of  this  circle  was  subdivided 
into  estates  for  the  chiefs,  while  the  khalisa,  or  fiscal  land,  the 
best  and  richest,  was  in  the  heart  of  the  country,  and  consequently 
well  protected  [141].  It  appears  doubtful  whether  the  khalisa 
lands  amounted  to  one-fourth  of  those  distributed  in  grant  to  the 
chiefs.  The  value  of  the  crown  demesne  as  the  nerve  and  sinew 
of  sovereignty,  was  well  known  by  the  former  heads  of  this  house. 
To  obtain  any  portion  thereof  was  the  reward  of  important  ser- 
vices ;  to  have  a  grant  of  a  few  acres  near  the  capital  for  a  garden 
was  deemed  a  high  favour  ;  and  a  village  in  the  amphitheatre  or 
valley,  in  which  the  present  capital  is  situated,  was  the  nc  plus 
ultra  of  recompense.  But  the  lavish  folly  of  the  present  prince, 
out  of  this  tract,  twenty-five  miles  in  circumference,  has  not 
preserved  a  single  village  in  his  khalisa.  By  this  distribution, 
and  by  the  inroads  of  the  wild  tribes  in  the  vicinity,  or  of  Moguls 
and  Mahrattas,  the  valour  of  the  chiefs  were  kept  in  constant 
play. 

The  country  was  partitioned  into  districts,  each  containing 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  towns  and  villages,  though  sometimes 
exceeding  that  proportion.  The  great  number  of  Chaurasis  ^ 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  portions  to  the  amount  of  eighty- 
four  had  been  the  general  subdivision.     Many  of  these  yet  remain  : 

house  seven  hundred  years  ago.  He  is  not  merely  a  nominal-  hereditary 
minister,  for  his  uncle  actually  held  the  office  ;  but  in  consequence  of  having 
favoured  the  views  of  a  pretender  to  the  crown,  its  active  duties  are  not 
entrusted  to  any  of  the  family. 

^  The  numeral  eighty-four.  [In  the  ancient  Hmdu  kingdoms  the  full 
estate  was  a  group  of  84  villages,  smaller  units  being  called  Byahsa,  42, 
or  Ch  ubisa,  24  (Baden-Powell,  The  Village  Community,  198,  and  see  a 
valuable  article  in  EUiot,  Supplemental  Glossary ,  178  ff.] 


THE  CHIEFS  OF  MEWAH  l6t 

as  the  '  Chaurasi '  of  Jahazpur  and  of  Kumbhalmer  :  tantaniouut 
to  the  old  '  hundreds  '  of  onr  Saxon  ancestry.  A  circle  of  posts 
was  distributed,  within  which  the  quotas  of  the  chiefs  attended, 
under  '  the  Faujdar  of  the  Sima  '  (vulgo  Sim),  or  conmiander  of 
the  border.  It  was  found  expedient  to  appoint  from  court  this 
lord  of  the  frontier,  always  accompanied  by  a  portion  of  the  royal 
insignia,  standard,  kettle-drums,  and  heralds,  and  being  genei'ally  a 
civil  officer,  he  united  to  his  military  olhce  the  administration  of 
justice.^  The  higher  vassals  never  attended  personally  at  these 
posts,  but  deputed  a  confidential  branch  of  their  family,  with 
the  quota  required.  For  the  government  of  the  districts  there 
were  conjoined  a  civil  and  a  military  officer  :  the  latter  generally 
a  vassal  of  the  second  rank.  Their  residence  was  the  chief  place 
of  the  district,  commonly  a  stronghold. 

The  division  of  the  chiefs  into  distinct  grades,  shows  a  highly 
artificial  state  of  society. 

First  class. — -We  have  the  Sixteen,  whose  estates  were  from 
hity  thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand  rupees  and  upwards,  of 
yearly  rent.  These  appear  in  the  [142]  presence  only  on  special 
invitation,  upon  festivals  and  solemn  ceremonies,  and  are  the 
hereditary  councillors  of  the  crown.^ 

Second  class,  from  five  to  fifty  thousand  rupees.  Their  duty 
is  to  be  always  in  attendance.  P>om  these,  chiefly,  faujdars  and 
military  officers  are  selected.- 

Third  class  is  that  of  Gol  ^  holding  lands  chiefly  under  five 
thousand  rupees,  though  by  favour  they  may  exceed  this  limit. 
They  are  generally  the  holders  of  separate  villages  and  portions 
of  land,  and  in  former  times  they  were  the  most  useful  class  to  the 
prince.  They  always  attended  on  his  person,  and  indeed  formed 
his  strength  against  any  combination  or  opposition  of  the  higher 
vassals. 

Fourth  class. — The  offsets  of  the  younger  branches  of  the 
Rana's  own  family,  within  a  certain  period,  are  called  the  babas, 
literally  '  infants,'  and  have  appanages  bestowed  on  them.     Of 

^  Now  each  chief  claims  the  right  of  administering  justice  in  his  own 
domain,  that  is,  in  civil  matters  ;  but  in  criminal  cases  they  ought  not 
without  the  special  sanction  of  the  crown.  Justice,  however,  has  long 
been  left  to  work  its  own  way,  and  the  seK-constituted  tribunals,  the  pan- 
chayats,  sit  in  judgment  in  all  cases  where  property  is  involved. 

^  See  Appendix,  No.  XX. 


168  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

this  class  are  Shahpura  and  Banera ;  too  powerful  for  subjects.* 
They  hold  on  none  of  the  terms  of  the  great  clans,  but  consider 
themselves  at  the  disposal  of  the  prince.  These  are  more  within 
the  influence  of  the  crown.  Allowing  adoption  into  these  houses, 
except  in  the  case  of  near  kindred,  is  assuredly  an  innovation  ; 
they  ought  to  revert  to  the  crown,  failing  immediate  issue,  as  did 
the  great  estate  of  Bhainsrorgarh,  two  generations  back.  From 
these  to  the  holder  of  a  clutrsa,  or  hide  of  land,  the  peculiarity  of 
tenure  and  duties  of  each  will  form  a  subject  for  discussion. 

Revenues  and  Rights  of  the  Crown. — I  need  not  here  expatiate 
upon  the  variety  of  items  which  constitute  the  revenues  of  the 
prince,  the  details  of  which  will  appear  in  their  proper  place. 
The  land-tax  in  the  khalisa  demesne  is,  of  course,  the  chief  source 
of  supply  ;  the  transit  duties  on  commerce  and  trade,  and  those 
of  the  larger  towns  and  cominercial  marts,  rank  next.  In  former 
times  more  attention  was  paid  to  this  important  branch  of  in- 
come, and  the  produce  was  greater  because  less  shackled.  The 
liberality  on  the  side  of  the  crown  was  only  equalled  by  the 
integrity  of  the  merchant,  and  the  extent  to  which  it  was  carried 
would  imply  an  almost  Utopian  degree  of  perfection  in  their 
mutual  qualities  of  liberality  and  honesty  ;  the  one,  perhaps, 
generating  the  other.  The  remark  of  a  merchant  recently,  on 
the  vexatious  train  of  duties  and  espionage  attending  their 
collection,  is  not  merely  figurative  :  "  our  ancestors  tied  their 
invoice  to  the  horns  of  the  oxen  ^  at  the  first  frontier  post  of 
customs,  and  no  intermediate  questions  [143]  were  put  till  we 
passed  to  the  opposite  or  sold  our  goods,  when  it  was  opened 
and  payment  made  accordingly  ;  but  now  every  town  has  its 
rights."  It  will  be  long  ere  this  degree  of  confidence  is  restored 
on  either  side  ;  extensive  demand  on  the  one  is  met  by  fraud  and 
evasion  on  the  other,  though  at  least  one-half  of  these  evils  have 
already  been  subdued. 

Mines  and  Minerals. — The  mines  were  very  productive  in 
former  times,  and  yielded  several  lacs  to  the  princes  of  Mewar.^ 

^  [They  are  heads  of  the  Ranawat  sub-tribe.  The  latter  enjoys  the  right, 
on  succession,  of  having  a  sword  sent  to  him  with  full  honours,  on  receipt 
of  which  he  goes  to  Udaipur  to  be  installed  (Erskine  ii.  A.  92).] 

^  Oxen  and  carts  are  chieflj'  used  in  the  Tundas,  or  caravans,  for  trans- 
portation of  goods  in  these  countries ;  camels  further  to  the  north. 

^  [On  the  mines  of  Mewar,  see  lA,  i.  63  f.] 


TAXATION  169 

The  rich  tin  mines  of  Jawara  produced  at  one  time  a  considerable 
proportion  of  silver.  Those  of  copper  are  abundant,  as  is  also 
iron  on  the  now  alienated  domain  on  the  Chambal  ;  but  lead  least 
of  aU.i 

The  marble  quarries  also  added  to  the  revenue  ;  and  where 
there  is  such  a  multiplicity  of  sources,  none  are  considered  too 
minute  to  be  applied  in  these  necessitous  times. 

Barar. — Barar  is  an  indefinite  term  for  taxation,  and  is  con- 
nected with  the  thing  taxed  :  as  ghanim-barar,^  '  war-tax  '  ;  gliar 
ginii-barar,^  '  house-tax  ' ;  hal-barar,  '  plough-tax ' ;  neota-barar, 
'  marriage-tax  '  ;  and  others,  both  of  old  and  new  standing. 
The  war-tax  was  a  kind  of  substitute  for  the  regular  mode  of 
levying  the  rents  on  the  produce  of  the  soil  ;  whicii  was  rendered 
very  difficult  during  the  disturbed  period,  and  did  not  accord 
with  the  wants  of  the  prince.  It  is  also  a  substitute  in  those 
mountainous  regions,  for  the  jarib,^  where  the  produce  bears 
no  proportion  to  the  cultivated  surface  ;  sometimes  from  poverty 
of  soil,  but  often  from  the  reverse,  as  in  Kumbhalmer,  where  the 
choicest  crops  are  produced  on  the  cultivated  terraces,  and  on  the 
sides  of  its  mountains,  which  abound  with  springs,  yielding  the 
richest  canes  and  cottons,  and  where  experiment  has  proved 
that  four  crops  can  be  raised  in  the  same  patch  of  soil  within  the 
year. 

The  offering  on  confirmation  of  estates  (or  fine  on  renewal)  is 
now,  though  a  very  small,  yet  still  one  source  of  supply  ;  as  is 
the  annual  and  triennial  payment  of  the  quit-rents  of  the  Bhumia 
chiefs.  Fines  in  composition  of  offences  may  also  be  mentioned  : 
and  they  might  be  larger,  if  more  activity  were  introduced  in  the 
detection  of  offenders  [144]. 

These  governments  are  mild  in  the  execution  of  the  laws  ; 

^  The  privilege  of  coiniug  is  a  reservation  of  royalty.  No  subject  is 
allowed  to  coin  gold  or  silver,  though  the  Salumbar  chief  has  on  sufferance 
a  copper  currency.  The  mint  was  a  considerable  source  of  income,  and 
may  be  again  when  confidence  is  restored  and  a  new  currency  introduced. 
The  Chitor  rupee  is  now  thirty-one  per  cent  inferior  to  the  old  Bhilara 
standard,  and  there  was  one  struck  at  the  capital  even  worse,  and  very  nearly 
as  bad  as  the  moneta  nigra  of  Philip  the  Fair  of  France,  who  allowed  his 
vassals  the  privilege  of  coining  it.  [For  an  account  of  the  past  and  present 
coinage  of  Mewai;  see  W.  W.  Webb,  Currencies  of  the  Hindu  States  of  Raj- 
puiana,  3  ff.] 

*  Enemy.  ^  Numbering  of  houses. 

*  A  measure  of  land  [usually  55  English  j^ards]. 


170  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

and  a  heavy  fine  lias  more  effect  (especially  on  the  hill  tribes) 
than  the  execution  of  the  offender,  who  fears  death  less  than  the 
loss  of  property. 

Khar-Lakar. — The  composition  for  '  wood  and  forage  '  afforded 
a  considerable  supply.  When  the  princes  of  Mewar  were  oftener 
in  the  tented  field  than  in  the  palace,  combating  for  their  pre- 
servation, it  was  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  store  up  wood 
and  forage  for  the  supply  of  the  prince's  army.  What  originated 
in  necessity  was  converted  into  an  abuse  and  annual  demand. 
The  towns  also  supplied  a  certain  portion  of  provisions  ;  where 
the  prince  halted  for  the  day  these  were  levied  on  the  connnunity  ; 
a  goat  or  sheep  from  the  shepherd,  milk  and  flour  froin  the  farmer  . 
The  maintenance  of  these  customs  is  observable  in  taxes,  for  the 
origin  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  assign  a  reason  without  going 
into  the  history  of  the  period  ;  they  scarcely  recollect  the  source 
of  some  of  these  themselves.  They  are  akin  to  those  known 
under  the  feudal  tenures  of  France,  arising  from  exactly  the  same 
causes,  and  commuted  for  money  payments  ;  such  as  the  droit 
de  gisie  et  de  chevauche.^  Many  also  originated  in  the  perambula- 
tions of  these  princes  to  visit  their  domains  ;  ^  a  black  year  in  the 
calendar  to  the  chief  and  the  subject.  When  he  honoured  the 
chief  by  a  visit,  he  had  to  present  horses  and  arms,  and  to  enter- 
tain his  prince,  in  all  which  honours  the  cultivators  and  merchants 
had  to  share.  The  duties  on  the  sale  of  spirits,  opium,  tobacco, 
and  even  to  a  share  of  the  garden-stuff,  affords  also  modes  of 
supply  [145].' 


CHAPTER   2 

Legislative  Authority. — During  the  period  still  called  "  the  good 
times  of  Mewar,'  the  prince,  with  the  aid  of  his  civil  council,  the 
four  ministers  of  the  crown  and  their  deputies,  promulgated  all 
the  legislative  enactments  in  which  the  general  rights  and  wants 
of  the  community  were  involved.     In  these  the  martial  vassals 

^  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  232. 

■^  Hume  describes  the  necessity  for  our  earlier  kings  inaking  these  tours 
to  consume  the  produce,  being  in  kind.  So  it  is  in  Mewar  ;  but  I  fancy 
the  supply  was  always  too  easily  convertible  into  circulating  medium  to 
be  the  cause  there. 

'  See  Appendix,  No.  X. 


PANCHAYATS  171 

or  chiefs  had  no  concern  :  a  wise  exclusion,  comprehending  also 
their  immediate  dependents,  military,  commercial,  and  agri- 
cultural. Even  now,  the  little  that  is  done  in  these  matters  is 
effected  by  the  civil  administration,  though  the  Rajput  Pardhans 
have  been  too  apt  to  interfere  in  matters  from  which  they  ought 
always  to  be  kept  aloof,  being  ever  more  tenacious  of  tlieir  own 
rights  than  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  the  community. 

Panchayats. — The  neglect  in  the  legislation  of  late  years  was 
supplied  by  the  self-constituted  tribunals,  the  useful  panchayats, 
of  which  enough  has  been  said  to  render  furtlicr  illustration 
unnecessar^^  Besides  the  resident  ruler  of  the  district,  who  was 
also  a  judicial  functionary,  there  was,  as  already  stated,  a  special 
officer  of  the  government  in  each  frontier  thana,  or  garrison  post. 
He  vmited  the  triple  occupation  of  embodying  the  quotas,  levying 
the  transit  duties,  and  administering  justice,  in  which  he  was 
aided  at  the  chabutra  ^  or  coiu-t,  by  assembling  the  Chauthias  or 
assessors  of  justice.  Each  town  and  village  has  its  chauthia,  the 
members  of  which  are  elected  by  their  felloM'-citizens,  and  remain 
as  long  as  they  conduct  themselves  imijartially  in  disentangling 
the  intricacies  of  complaints  preferred  to  them. 

They  are  the  aids  to  the  Nagarseth,  or  chief  magistrate,  an 
hereditary  office  in  every  large  city  in  Rajasthan.  Of  this 
chauthia  the  Patel  and  Patwari  *  are  generally  members.  TJie 
former  of  these,  like  the  Dasaundhi  of  the  Mahrattas,  resembles 
in  his  duties  the  decanus  of  France  and  the  tithing-man  in  England. 
The  chauthia  and  panchayat  of  these  districts  are  analogous  to 
the  assessors  of  [140]  justice  called  scabi7ii  ^  in  France,  who  held 
the  office  by  election  or  the  concurrence  of  the  people.  But  these 
are  the  special  and  fixed  council  of  each  town  ;  the  general 
panchayats  are  formed  from  the  respectable  population  at  large, 
and  were  formerly  from  all  classes  of  society. 

The  chabutras,  or  terraces  of  justice,  were  always  established 
in  the  khalisa,  or  crown  demesne.  It  was  deemed  a  humiliating 
intrusion  if  they  sat  within  the  bounds  of  a  chief.  To  '  erect  the 
flag '  within  his  limits,  whether  for  the  formation  of  defensive 
posts  or  the  collection  of  duties,  is  deemed  a  gross  breach  of  his 

^  Literally  '  terrace,'  or  '  altar.' 
^  [Headman  and  accountant.] 

^  They  were  considered  a  sort  of  jury,  bearing  a  close  analogy  to  ■4;he 
judices  selecti,  who  sat  with  the  praetor  in  the  tribunal  of  Rome  (Hallam). 


172  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

privileged  iadependenee,  as  to  establish  them  within  the  walls  of 
his  residence  would  be  deemed  equal  to  sequestration.  It  often 
becomes  necessary  to  see  justice  enforced  on  a  chief  or  his  de- 
pendent, but  it  begets  eternal  disputes  and  disobedience,  tUl  at 
length  they  are  worried  to  compliance  by  rozina. 

Bozina. — When  delay  in  these  matters,  or  to  the  general 
conunands  of  the  prince,  is  evinced,  an  officer  or  herald  is  deputed 
with  a  party  of  four,  ten,  or  twenty  horse  or  foot,  to  the  hef  of 
the  chief,  at  whose  residence  they  take  up  their  abode  ;  and 
carrying,  under  the  seal,  a  warrant  to  furnish  them  with  specified 
daily  {rozina)  rations,  they  live  at  free  quarters  till  he  is  quickened 
into  compliance  with  the  commands  of  the  prince.  This  is  the 
only  accelerator  of  the  slow  movements  of  a  Rajput  chieftaia  in 
these  days,  whether  for  his  appearance  at  court  or  the  performance 
of  an  act  of  justice.  It  is  often  carried  to  a  harassing  e±cess,  and 
causes  much  complaint. 

In  cases  regarding  the  distribution  of  justice  or  the  internal 
economy  of  the  chief's  estates,  the  government  officers  seldom 
interfere.  But  of  their  panchayats  I  will  only  remark,  that  their 
import  amongst  the  vassals  is  very  comprehensive  ;  and  when 
they  talk  of  the  '  punch,'  it  means  the  '  collective  wisdom.'  In 
the  reply  to  the  remonstrance  of  the  Deogarh  vassals,^  the  chief 
promises  never  to  undertake  any  measure  without  their  delibera- 
tion and  sanction. 

On  all  grand  occasions  where  the  general  peace  or  tranquillity 
of  the  government  is  threatened^  the  chiefs  form  the  councU  of 
the  sovereign.  Such  subjects  are  always  first  discussed  in  the 
domestic  councUs  of  each  chief  ;  so  that  when  the  [147]  witenage- 
mot  of  Mewar  was  assembled,  each  had  prepared  himself  by 
previous  discussion,  and  was  fortified  by  abundance  of  advice. 

To  be  excluded  the  council  of  the  prince  is  to  be  in  utter 
disgrace.  These  grand  divans  produce  infinite  speculation,  and 
the  ramifications  which  form  the  opinions  are  extensive.  The 
council  of  each  chief  is,  in  fact,  a  miniature  representation  of  the 
sovereign's.  The  greater  sub-vassals,  his  civU  pardhan,  the 
mayor  of  the  household,  the  purohit,^  the  bard,  and  two  or  three 
of  the  most  intelligent  citizens,  form  the  minor  councils,  and  all 
are  separately  deliberating  while  the  superior  court  is  in  discus- 
sion. Thus  is  collected  the  wisdom  of  the  magnates  of  Rajwara. 
^  See  Appendix,  No.  III.  ^  Family  priost. 


MILITARY  SERVICE  :    ESCUAGE  173 

Military  Service. — In  Mewar,  diiriiig  the  days  of  her  glory  and 
prosperity,  fifteen  thousand  horse,  bound  by  the  ties  of  fidelity 
and  service,  followed  their  prince  into  the  field,  all  supported  by 
lands  held  by  grant  ;  from  the  chief  who  headed  five  hundred  of 
his  own  vassals,  to  the  single  horseman. 

Knight's  Fee  or  Single  Horsemen. — A  knight's  fee  in  these 
States  varies.  For  each  thousand  rupees  of  annual  rent,  never 
less  than  two,  and  generally  three  horsemen  were  furnished  ;  and 
sometimes  three  horse  and  three  foot  soldiers,  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  times  when  the  grant  was  conferred.  The 
different  grants  ^  appended  will  show  this  variety,  and  furnish 
additional  proof  that  this,  and  all  similar  systems  of  policy,  must 
be  much  indebted  to  chance  for  the  shape  they  ultimately  take. 
The  knight's  fee,  when  William  the  Conqueror  partitioned  England 
into  sixty  thousand  such  portions,  from  each  of  which  a  soldier's 
service  was  due,  was  fixed  at  £20.  Each  portion  furnished  its 
soldier  or  paid  escuage.  The  knight's  fee  of  Mewar  may  be  said 
to  be  two  hundred  and  fifty  rupees,  or  about  £30. 

Limitations  of  Service. — In  Europe,  service  was  so  restricted 
that  the  monarch  had  but  a  precarious  authority.  He  could 
only  calculate  upon  forty  days'  annual  service  from  the  tenant 
of  a  knight's  fee.  In  Rajasthan  it  is  very  different  :  "  at  home 
and  abroad,  service  shall  be  performed  when  demanded  "  ;  such 
is  the  condition  of  the  tenure. 

For  state  and  show,  a  portion  of  the  greater  vassals  ^  reside  at 
the  capital  for  [148]  some  months,  when  they  have  permission  to 
retire  to  their  estates,  and  are  relieved  by  another  portion.  On 
the  grand  military  festival  the  whole  attend  for  a  given  time  ;  and 
when  the  prince  took  the  field,  the  whole  assembled  at  their  own 
charge  :  but  if  hostilities  carried  them  beyond  the  frontier  they 
were  allowed  certain  rations. 

Escuage  or  Scutage. — Escuage  or  scutage,  the  phrase  in 
Europe  to  denote  the  amercement  *  for  non-attendance,  is  also 
known  and  exemplified  in  deeds.  Failure  from  disaffection, 
turbulence,  or  pride,  brought  a  heavy  fine  ;  the  sequestration  of 
the  whole  or  part  of  the  estate.*     The  princes  of  these  States 

^  See  Appendix,  Nos.  IV.  V.  and  VI. 

^  See  Appendix,  No.  XX.  art.  6  ;  the  treaty  between  the  chiefs  and  his 
vassals  defining  service. 

'  Appendix,  No.  XVI.  *  Both  of  which  I  have  witnessed. 


174  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTTTAN 

would  willingly  desire  to  see  escuage  more  general.  All  have 
made  this  first  attempt  towards  an  approximation  to  a  standing 
army  ;  but,  though  the  chiefs  would  make  compensation  to  get 
rid  of  some  particular  service,  they  are  very  reluctant  to  renounce 
lands,  by  which  alone  a  fixed  force  could  be  maintained.  The 
rapacity  of  the  court  would  gladly  fly  to  scutages,  but  in  the 
present  impoverished  state  of  the  fiefs,  such  if  injudiciously  levied 
would  be  almost  equivalent  to  resumption  ;  but  this  measure  is 
so  full  of  difficulty  as  to  be  almost  impracticable. 

Inefficiency  of  this  Form  of  Government. — Throughout  Rajas- 
than  the  character  and  welfare  of  the  States  depend  on  that  of  the 
sovereign  :  he  is  the  mainspring  of  the  system — the  active  power 
to  set  and  keep  in  motion  all  these  discordant  materials  ;  if  he 
relax,  each  part  separates,  and  moves  in  a  narrow  sphere  of  its 
own.  Yet  will  the  impulse  of  one  great  mind  put  the  machine 
in  regular  movement,  which  shall  endure  during  two  or  three 
imbecile  successors,  if  no  fresh  exterior  force  be  applied  to  check 
it.  It  is  a  system  full  of  defects  ;  yet  we  see  them  so  often 
balanced  by  virtues,  that  Ave  are  alternately  biassed  by  these 
counteracting  qualities  ;  loyalty  and  patriotism,  which  combine 
a  love  of  the  institutions,  religion,  and  manners  of  the  country, 
are  the  counterpoise  to  systematic  evil.  In  no  country  has  the 
system  ever  proved  efficient.  It  has  been  one  of  eternal  excite- 
ment and  irregular  action  ;  inimical  to  order,  and  the  repose 
deemed  necessary  after  conflict  for  recruiting  the  national  strength. 
The  absence  of  an  external  foe  was  but  the  signal  for  disorders 
within,  which  increased  to  a  terrific  height  in  the  feuds  of  the 
two  great  rival  factions  of  Mewar,  the  clans  of  [149]  Chondawat  ^ 
and  Saktawat,^  as  the  weakness  of  the  prince  augmented  by  the 
abstraction  of  his  personal  domain,  and  the  diminution  of  the 
services  of  the  third  class  of  vassals  (the  Gol),  the  personal  re- 
tainers of  the  crown  ;  but  when  these  feuds  broke  out,  even  with 
the  enemy  at  their  gates,  it  required  a  prince  of  great  nerve  and 
talent  to  regulate  them.     Yet  is  there  a  redeeming  quality  in  the 

'  A  clan  called  after  Chonda,  eldest  son  of  an  ancient  Rana,  who  resigned 
his  birthright. 

^  Sakta  was  the  son  of  Rana  Udai  Singh,  founder  of  Udayapura,  or 
Udaipur.  The  feuds  of  these  two  clans,  like  those  of  the  Annagnacs  and 
Bourguignons,  "  qui  couvrirent  la  France  d'un  crepe  sanglant,"  have  been 
the  destruction  of  Mewar.  It  requires  but  a  change  of  names  and  places, 
while  reading  the  one,  to  understand  perfectly  the  history  of  the  other. 


RIVALRY  OF  THE  SUB-CLANS  175 

• 

system,  which,  imperfect  as  it  is,  could  render  such  perilous 
circumstances  but  the  impulse  to  a  rivalry  of  heroism. 

Rivalry  o£  the  Chondawat  and  Saktawat  Sub-clans. — When 
Jahangir  had  obtained  possession  of  the  palladium  of  Mewar,  the 
ancient  fortress  of  Chitor,  and  driven  the  prince  into  the  wilds  and 
mountains  of  the  west,  an  opportunity  offered  to  recover  some 
frontier  lands  in  the  plains,  and  the  Rana  with  all  his  chiefs  was 
assembled  for  the  purpose.  But  the  Saktawats  asserted  an  equal 
privilege  with  their  rivals  to  form  the  vanguard  ;  ^  a  right  which 
their  indisputable  valour  (perhaps  superior  to  that  of  the  other 
party)  rendered  not  invalid.  The  Chondawats  claimed  it  as  an 
hereditary  privilege,  and  the  sword  would  have  decided  the 
matter  but  for  the  tact  of  the  prince.  "  The  harawal  to  the  clan 
which  first  enters  Untala,"  was  a  decision  which  the  Saktawat 
leader  quickly  heard  ;  while  the  other  could  no  longer  plead  his 
right,  when  such  a  gauntlet  was  thrown  down  for  its  maintenance. 

Untala  is  the  frontier  fortress  in  the  plains,  about  eighteen 
miles  east  of  the  capital,  and  covering  the  road  which  leads  from 
it  to  the  more  ancient  one  of  Chitor.  It  is  situated  on  a  rising 
groimd,  with  a  stream  flowing  beneath  its  walls,  which  are  of 
solid  masonry,  lofty,  and  with  round  towers  at  intervals.^  In 
the  centre  was  the  governor's  house,  also  fortified.  One  gate 
only  gave  admission  to  this  castle. 

The  clans,  always  rivals  in  power,  now  competitors  in  glory, 
moved  off  at  the  same  time,  some  hours  before  daybreak — • 
LTntala  the  goal,  the  harawal  the  reward  !  Animated  with  hope — 
a  barbarous  and  cruel  foe  the  object  of  their  prowess — their  wives 
and  families  spectators,  on  their  return,  of  the  meed  of  enterprise  ; 
the  bard  [150],  who  sang  the  praise  of  each  race  at  their  outset, 
demanding  of  each  materials  for  a  new  wreath,  supplied  every 
stimulus  that  a  Rajput  could  have  to  exertion. 

The  Saktawats  made  directly  for  the  gateway,  which  they 
reached  as  the  day  broke,  and  took  the  foe  unprepared  ;  but  the 
walls  were  soon  manned,,  and  the  action  commenced.  The 
Chondawats,  less  skilled  in  topography,  had  traversed  a  swamp, 
which  retarded  them — but  through  which  they  dashed,  fortun- 
ately meeting  a  guide  in  a  shepherd  of  Untala.  With  more 
foresight  than  their  opponents,  they  had  brought  ladders.     The 

^  Harawal. 

^  It  is  now  in  ruins,  but  the  towers  and  part  of  the  walls  are  still  standing. 


176  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

chief  led  the  escalade,  but  a  ball  rolled  him  back  amidst  his 
vassals  ;  it  was  not  his  destiny  to  lead  the  harawal  !  Each  party 
was  checked.  The  Saktawat  depended  on  the  elephant  he  rode, 
to  gain  admission  by  forcing  the  gate  ;  but  its  projecting  spikes 
deterred  the  animal  from  applying  its  strength.  His  men  were 
falling  thick  around  him,  when  a  shout  from  the  other  party 
made  him  dread  their  success.  He  descended  from  his  seat, 
placed  his  body  on  the  spikes,  and  commanded  the  driver,  on 
pain  of  instant  death,  to  propel  the  elephant  against  him.  The 
gates  gave  way,  and  over  the  dead  body  of  their  chief  his  clan 
rushed  to  the  combat  !  But  even  this  heroic  surrender  of  his 
life  failed  to  purchase  the  honour  for  his  clan.  The  lifeless  corpse 
of  his  rival  was  already  in  Untala,  and  this  was  the  event 
announced  by  the  shout  which  urged  his  sacrifice  to  honour  and 
ambition.  When  the  Chondawat  chief  fell,  the  next  in  rank  and 
kin  took  the  command.  He  was  one  of  those  arrogant,  reckless 
Rajputs,  who  signalized  themselves  wherever  there  was  danger, 
not  only  against  men  but  tigers,  and  his  common  appellation 
was  the  Benda  Thakur  ('  mad  chief ')  of  Deogarh.  When  his 
leader  fell,  he  rolled  the  body  in  his  scarf  ;  then  tying  it  on  his 
back,  scaled  the  wall,  and  with  his  lance  having  cleared  the  way 
before  him  he  threw  the  dead  body  over  the  parapet  of  Untala, 
shouting,  "  The  vanguard  to  the  Chondawat  !  we  are  first  in  !  " 
The  shout  was  echoed  by  the  clan,  and  the  rampart  was  in  their 
possession  nearly  at  the  moment  of  the  entry  of  the  Saktawats. 
The  Moguls  fell  under  their  swords  :  the  standard  of  Mewar  was 
erected  in  the  castle  of  Untala,  but  the  leading  of  the  vanguard 
remained  with  the  Chondawats^  [151]. 

This  is  not  the  sole  instance  of  such  jealousies  being  converted 

^  An  anecdote  appended  by  my  friend  Anira  (the  bard  of  the  Sangawats, 
a  powerful  division  of  the  Chondawats,  whose  head  is  Deogarh,  often  alluded 
to,  and  who  alone  used  to  lead  two  thousand  vassals  into  the  field)  was  well 
attested.  Two  Mogul  chiefs  of  note  were  deeply  engaged  in  a  game  of  chess 
when  the  tumult  was  reported  to  them.  Feeling  confident  of  success,  they 
continued  their  game  ;  nor  would  they  desist  till  the  inner  castle  of  this 
'  donjon  keep  '  was  taken,  and  they  were  surrounded  by  the  Rajputs,  when 
they  cooUy  begged  they  might  be  allowed  to  terminate  their  game.  This 
the  enemy  granted  ;  but  the  loss  of  their  chiefs  had  steeled  their  breasts 
against  mercy,  and  they  were  afterwards  put  to  death.  [Compare  the 
similar  case  of  Ganga;  Raja  of  Mysore,  who  was  surprised,  by  the  treachery 
of  his  ministers,  while  occupied  in  a  game  of  chess  (L.  Rice,  Mysore  Gazeltecr 
(1897),  i.  319.] 


RIVALRY  OF  THE  SUB-CLANS  177 

into  a  generous  and  patriotic  rivalry  ;  many  others  could  be 
adduced  throughout  the  greater  principaUties,  but  especially 
amongst  the  brave  Rathors  of  Marwar. 

It  was  a  nice  point  to  keep  these  clans  poised  against  each 
other  ;  their  feuds  were  not  without  utihty,  and  the  tact  of  the 
prince  frequently  turned  them  to  account.  One  party  was  certain 
to  be  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  sovereign,  and  this  alone  counter- 
balanced the  evil  tendencies  before  described.  To  this  day  it 
has  been  a  perpetual  struggle  for  supremacy  ;  and  the  epithets 
of  '  loyalist '  and  '  traitor  '  have  been  alternating  between  them 
for  centuries,  according  to  the  portion  they  enjoyed  of  the 
prince's  favour,  and  the  talents  and  disposition  of  the  heads  of  the 
clans  to  maintain  their  predominance  at  court.  The  Saktawats 
are  weaker  in  numbers,  but  have  the  reputation  of  greater 
bravery  and  more  genius  than  their  rivals.  I  am  inclined,  on  the 
whole,  to  assent  to  this  opinion  ;  and  the  very  consciousness  of 
this  reputation  must  be  a  powerful  incentive  to  its  preservation. 

When  all  these  governments  were  founded  and  maintained  on 
the  same  principle,  a  system  of  feuds,  doubtless,  answered  very 
well ;  but  it  cannot  exist  with  a  well-constituted  monarchy 
Where  individual  will  controls  the  energies  of  a  nation,  it  must 
eventually  lose  its  liberties.  To  preserve  their  power,  the  princes 
of  Rajasthan  surrendered  a  portion  of  theirs  to  the  emperors  of 
Delhi.  They  made  a  nominal  surrender  to  him  of  their  kingdoms 
receiving  them  back  with  a  sanad,  or  grant,  renewed  on  each 
lapse  :  thereby  acknowledging  him  as  lord  paramount.  They 
received,  on  these  occasions,  the  khilat  of  honour  and  investiture, 
consisting  of  elephants,  horses,  arms,  and  jewels  ;  and  to  their 
hereditary  title  of  '  prince  '  was  added  by  the  emperor,  one  of 
dignity,  mansab.^  Besides  this  acknowledgment  of  supremacy, 
they  offered  nazarana  ^  and  homage,  especially  on  the  festival 
of  Nauroz  (the  new  year),  engaging  to  attend  the  royal  presence 
when  required,  at  the  head  of  a  stipulated  number  of  their  vassals. 
The  emperor  presented  them  with  a  royal  standard,  kettle-drums, 
and  other  insignia,  which  headed  the  array  of  each  prince.  Here 
we  have  all  the  chief  incidents  of  a  great  feudal  sovereignty. 
Whether  the  Tatar  sovereigns  borrowed  these  customs  from  their 

^  ['  Office,  prerogative.'     For  a  full  account  of  the  Mansab  system,  see 
Irvine,  Army  of  the  Indian  Moghuls,  3  ff.] 
^  Fine  of  relief. 
VOL.  I  N 


178  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

princely  vassals,  or  brought  them  from  the  highlands  of  Asia,  from 
the  Oxus  [152]  and  Jaxartes,  whence,  there  is  little  doubt,  many 
of  these  Sachha  Rajputs  originated,  shall  be  elsewhere  considered. 

Akbar's  Policy  towards  the  Rajputs. — The  splendour  of  such  an 
array,  whether  in  the  field  or  at  the  palace,  can  scarcely  be  con- 
ceived. Though  Humayun  had  gained  the  services  of  some  of 
the  Rajput  princes,  their  aid  was  uncertain.  It  was  reserved  for 
his  son,  the  wise  and  magnanimous  Akbar,  to  induce  them  to 
become  at  once  the  ornament  and  support  of  his  throne.  The 
power  which  he  consolidated,  and  knew  so  well  to  wield,  was 
irresistible  ;  while  the  beneficence  of  his  disposition,  and  the 
wisdom  of  his  policy,  maintained  what  his  might  conquered.  He 
felt  that  a  constant  exhibition  of  authority  would  not  only  be 
ineffectual  but  dangerous,  and  that  the  surest  hold  on  their 
fealty  and  esteern  would  be  the  giving  them  a  personal  interest 
in  the  support  of  the  monarchy. 

Alliances  between  Moguls  and  Rajputs. — Akbar  determined  to 
unite  the  pure  Rajput  blood  to  the  scarcely  less  noble  stream 
which  flowed  from  Aghuz  Khan,  through  .lenghiz,  Timur,  and 
Babur,  to  himself,  calculating  that  they  would  more  readily  yield 
obedience  to  a  prince  who  claimed  kindred  with  them,  than  to 
one  purely  Tatar  ;  and  that,  at  all  events,  it  would  gain  the 
support  of  their  immediate  kin,  and  might  in  the  end  become 
general.  In  this  supposition  he  did  not  err.  We  are  less  ac- 
quainted with  the  obstacles  which  opposed  his  first  success  than 
those  he  subsequently  encountered  ;  one  of  which  neither  he  nor 
his  descendants  ever  overcame  in  the  family  of  Mewar,'who  could 
never  be  brought  to  submit  to  such  alliance. 

Amber,  the  nearest  to  Delhi  and  the  most  exposed,  though 
more  open  to  temptation  than  to  conquest,  in  its  then  contracted 
sphere,  was  the  first  to  set  the  example.^  Its  Raja  Bhagwandas 
gave  his  daughter  to  Humayun  ;  ^  and  subsequently  this  practice 
became  so  common,  that  some  of  the  most  celebrated  emperors 
were  the  offspring  of  Rajput  princesses.  Of  these,  Salim,  called 
after  his  accession,  Jahangir  ;    his  ill-fated  son,  Khusru  ;    Shah 

^  [There  were  earlier  instances  of  alliances  between  Muhanimadan 
princes  and  Hindus.  The  mother  of  Firoz  Shah,  born  a.d.  1309,  was  a 
Bhatti  lady  :  Khizr  Khan  married  Deval  Devi,  a  Vaghela  lady  of  Gujarat 
(EUiot-Dowson,  iii.  271  f.,  545;  Elphinstone,  395).] 

^  [There  is  no  evidence  for  this  statement  (Smith,  AJchar,  58,  225).] 


RAJPUT  GENERALS  179 

Jahan  ;  ^  Kanibakhsh,^  the  favourite  of  his  father  ;  Aurangzeb, 
and  his  rebelHous  son  Akbar,  whom  his  Rajput  kin  would  have 
placed  on  the  throne  had  his  genius  equalled  their  power,  are 
the  most  prominent  instances.  Farruldisiyar,  when  the  empire 
began  to  totter,  furnislxed  the  last  instance  of  a  Mogul  sove- 
reign [153]  marrying  a  Hindu  princess,'  the  daughter  of  Raja 
Ajit  Singh,  sovereign  of  INIarwar. 

These  Rajput  princes  became  the  guardians  of  the  minority 
of  their  imperial  nephews,  and  had  a  direct  stake  in  the  empircj 
and  in  the  augmentation  of  their  estates. 

Rajputs  in  the  Imperial  Service. — Of  the  four  hundred  and 
sixteen  Mansabdars,  or  militarj^  commanders  of  Akbar's  empire, 
from  leaders  of  two  hundred  to  ten  thousand  men,  forty-seven 
were  Rajputs,  and  the  aggregate  of  their  quotas  amounted  to. 
fifty-three  thousand  horse  :  *  exactly  one-tenth  of  the  united  Man- 
sabdars of  the  empire,  or  five  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  horse. ^ 
Of  the  forty-seven  Rajput  leaders,  there  were  seventeen  whose 
mansabs  were  from  one  thousand  to  five  thousand  liorse,  and 
thirty  from  two  hundred  to  one  thousand. 

The  princes  of  Amber,  Marwar,  Bikaner,  Bundi,  Jaisalmer, 
Bundelkhand,  and  even  Shaikhawati,  held  mansabs  of  above 
one  thousand  ;  but  Amber  only,  being  allied  to  the  throne,  had 
the  dignity  of  five  thousand. 

The  Raja  Udai  Singh  of  Marwar,  surnamed  the  Fat,  chief  of 

^  The  son  of  the  Princess  Jodh  Bai,  whose  magnificent  tomb  still  excites 
admiration  at  Sikandra,  near  Agra. 

^  'Gift  of  Love.'  [Kambakhsh  had  a' Hindu  wife,  Kalyan  Kumari, 
daughter  of  Amar  Chand  and  sister  of  Sagat  Singh,  Zamindar  of  Manoharpur. 
Professor  Jadunath  Sarkar  has  been  unable  to  trace  a  Hindu  wife  of  Akbar, 
son  of  Aurangzeb.] 

^  To  this  very  marriage  we  owe  the  origin  of  our  power.  When  the 
nuptials  were  preparing,  the  emperor  fell  ill.  A  mission  was  at  that  time 
at  Delhi  from  Surat,  where  we  traded,  of  which  Mr.  Hamilton  was  the 
surgeon.  He  cured  the  king,  and  the  marriage  was  completed.  In  the 
oriental  style,  he  desired  the  doctor  to  name  his  reward  ;  but  instead  of 
asking  anything  for  himself,  he  demanded  a  grant  of  land  for  a  factory  on 
the  Hoogly  for  his  employers.  It  was  accorded,  and  this  was  the  origin 
of  the  greatness  of  the  British  empire  in  the  East.  Such  an  act  deserved 
at  least  a  column  ;  but  neither  "  storied  urn  nor  animated  bust  "  marks 
the  spot  where  his  remains  are  laid  [C.  R.  Wilson,  Early  Annals  of  the 
English  in  Bengal,  ii.  235,  see  p.  468  below]. 

"  Abu-1  Fazl  [Ain,  i.  308  ff.]. 

^  The  infantry,  regulars,  and  mihtia,  exceeded  4,000,000. 


180  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

the  Rathors,  held  but  the  mansab  of  one  thousand,  while  a  scion 
of  his  house,  Rae  Singh  of  Bilvaner,  had  four  thousand.  This  is 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  dignity  being  thrust  upon  the  head 
of  that  house.  The  independent  princes  of  Chanderi,  Karauh, 
Datia,  with  the  tributary  feudatories  of  the  larger  principalities, 
and  members  of  the  Shaikhawat  federation,  were  enrolled  on  the 
other  grades,  fi-om  four  to  seven  hundred.  Amongst  these  we 
find  the  founder  of  the  Saktawat  clan,  who,  quarrelling  with  his 
brother,  Rana  Partap  of  Mewar,  gave  his  services  to  Akbar.  In 
short  it  became  general,  and  what  originated  in  force  or  persua- 
sion, was  soon  coveted  from  interested  motives  ;  and  as  nearly 
all  the  States  submitted  in  [1.54]  time  to  give  queens  to  the  empire, 
few  were  left  to  stigmatize  this  dereliction  from  Hindu  principle. 

Akbar  thus  gained  a  double  victory,  securing  the  good  opinions 
as  well  as  the  swords  of  these  princes  in  his  aid.  A  judicious 
perseverance  would  have  rendered  the  throne  of  Timur  immov- 
able, had  not  the  tolerant  principles  and  beneficence  of  Akbar, 
Jahangir,  and  Shah  Jahan  been  lost  sight  of  by  the  bigoted  and 
bloodthirsty  Aurangzeb  ;  who,  although  while  he  lived  his  com- 
manding genius  wielded  the  destinies  of  this  immense  empire  at 
pleasure,  alienated  the  affections,  by  insulting  the  prejudices, 
of  those  who  had  aided  in  raising  the  empire  to  the  height  on 
which  it  stood.  This  affection  withdrawn,  and  the  wealoiess  of 
Farrukhsiyar  substituted  for  the  strength  of  Aurangzeb,  it  fell 
and  went  rapidly  to  pieces.  Predatory  warfare  and  spohation 
rose  on  its  ruins.  The  Rajput  princes,  with  a  short-sighted 
policy,  at  first  connived  at,  and  even  secretly  invited  the  tumult  ; 
not  calculating  on  its  affecting  their  interests.  Each  looked  to 
the  return  of  ancient  independence,  and  several  reckoned  on 
great  accession  of  power.  Old  jealousies  were  not  lessened  by  the 
part  which  each  had  played  in  the  hour  of  ephemeral  greatness  ; 
and  the  prince  of  Mewar,  who  preserved  his  blood  uncontamin- 
ated,  though  with  loss  of  land,  was  at  once  an  object  of  respect 
and  envy  to  those  who  had  forfeited  the  first  pretensions  ^  of  a 
Rajput.  It  was  the  only  ovation  the  Sesodia  ^  had  to  boast  for 
centuries  of  oppression  and  spoliation,  whilst  their  neighbours 

1  See,  in  the  Annals  of  Mewar,  the  letter  of  Rae  Singh  of  Bikaner  (who  had 
been  compelled  to  subfnit  to  this  practice),  on  hearing  that  Rana  Partap's 
reverses  were  likely  to  cause  a  similar  result.  It  is  a.  noble  production,  and 
gives  the  character  of  both. 

^  The  tribe  to  which  the  princes  of  Mewar  belonged. 


RESULTS  OF  FEUDALISM  181 

were  basking  in  court  favour.  The  great  increase  of  territory  of 
these  princes  nearly  equalled  the  power  of  Mewar,  and  the  dignities 
thus  acquired  from  the  sons  of  Timur,  they  naturally  wished 
should  appear  as  distinguished  as  his  ancient  title.  Hence,  while 
one  inscribed  on  his  seal  "  The  exalted  in  dignity,  a  prince  amongst 
princes,  and  king  of  kiags,"  ^  the  prince  of  Mewar  preserved  his 
royal  simplicity  in  "Maharana  Bhima  Singh,  son  of  Arsi."  But 
this  is  digression. 

Results  of  Feudalism. — It  would  be  difficult  to  say  what  would 
be  the  happiest  form  of  government  for  these  States  without  refer- 
ence to  their  neighbours.  Their  own  feudal  customs  would  seem 
to  have  worked  well.  The  experiment  of  centuries  has  secured 
[155]  to  them  political  existence,  while  successive  dynasties  of 
Afghans  and  Moguls,  during  eight  hundred  years,  have  left  but 
the  wreck  of  splendid  names.  Were  they  to  become  more  mon- 
archical, they  would  have  everything  to  dread  from  vmchecked 
despotism,  over  which  even  the  turbulence  of  their  chiefs  is  a 
salutary  control. 

Were  they  somewhat  more  advanced  towards  prosperity,  the 
crown  demesne  redeemed  from  dissipation  and  sterility,  and  the 
chiefs  enabled  to  bring  their  quotas  into  play  for  protection  and 
police,  recourse  should  never  be  had  to  bodies  of  mercenary 
troops,  which  practice,  if  persevered  in,  will  inevitably  change 
their  present  form  of  government.  This  has  invariably  been  the 
result,  in  Europe  as  weU  as  Rajasthan,  else  why  the  dread  of 
standing  armies  ? 

Employment  of  Mercenaries. — Escuage  is  an  approximating 
step.  When  Charles  VII.  of  France  -  raised  his  companies  of 
ordnance,  the  basis  of  the  first  national  standing  army  ever 
embodied  in  Europe,  a  tax  called  '  taiUe  '  was  imposed  to  pay 
them,  and  Guienne  rebelled.  Kotah  is  a  melancholy  instance  of 
subversion  of  the  ancient  order  of  society.  Mewar  made  the 
experiment  from  necessity  sixty  years  ago,  when  rebellion  and 
invasion  conjoined  ;  and  a  body  of  Sindis  were  employed,  which 
completed  their  disgust,  and  they  fought  with  each  other  till 
almost  mutually  exterminated,  and  till  all  faith  in  their  prince 
was  lost.  Jaipur  had  adopted  this  custom  to  a  greater  extent  ; 
but  it  was  an  ill-paid  band,  neither  respected  at  home  nor  feared 

^  Raj  Rajeswara,  the  title  of  the  prince  of  Marwar  :  the  prince  of  Amber, 
Raj  Rajindra.  *  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  117. 


182  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

abroad.  In  Marwar  the  feudal  compact  was  too  strong  to  tolerate 
it,  till  Pathan  predatory  bands,  prowling  amidst  the  ruins  of 
Mogul  despotism,  were  called  in  to  partake  in  each  family  broil  ; 
the  consequence  was  the  weakening  of  all,  and  opening  the  door 
to  a  power  stronger  than  any,  to  be  the  arbiter  of  their  fate. 

General  Duties  of  the  Pattawat,  or  Vassal  Chief  of  Rajasthan. — 
"  The  essential  principle  of  a  fief  was  a  mutual  contract  of  support 
and  fidelity.  Whatever  obligations  it  laid  upon  the  vassal  of 
service  to  his  lord,  corresponding  duties  of  protection  were  im- 
posed by  it  on  the  lord  towards  his  vassal.  If  these  were  trans- 
gressed on  either  side,  the  one  forfeited  his  land,  the  other  his 
signiory  or  rights  over  it."  ^  In  this  is  comprehended  the  very 
foundation  of  feudal  policy,  because  in  its  simplicity  we  recognize 
first  principles  involving  mutual  preservation.  The  best  [156] 
commentary  on  this  definition  of  simple  truth  will  be  the  senti- 
ments of  the  Rajputs  themselves  in  two  papers  :  one  containing 
the  opinions  of  the  chiefs  of  Marwar  on  the  reciprocal  duties  of 
sovereign  and  vassal ;  -  the  other,  those  of  the  sub-vassals  of 
Deogarh,  one  of  the  largest  fiefs  in  Rajasthan,  of  their  rights,  the 
infringement  of  them,  and  the  remedy.^ 

If,  at  any  former  period  in  the  history  of  Marwar,  its  prince 
had  thus  dared  to  act,  his  signiory  and  rights  over  it  would  not 
have  been  of  great  value  ;  his  crown  and  life  would  both  have 
been  endangered  by  these  turbulent  and  determined  vassals.  How 
much  is  comprehended  in  that  manly,  yet  respectful  sentence  : 
"  If  he  accepts  our  services,  then  he  is  our  prince  and  leader  ; 
if  not,  but  our  equal,  and  we  again  his  brothers,  claimants  of  and 
laying  claim  to  the  soil."  In  the  remonstrance  of  the  sub-vassals 
of  Deogarh,  we  have  the  same  sentiments  on  a  reduced  scale. 
In  both  we  have  the  ties  of  blood  and  kindred,  connected  with 
and  strengthening  national  policy.  If  a  doubt  could  exist  as  to 
the  principle  of  fiefs  being  similar  in  Rajasthan  and  in  Europe, 
it  might  be  set  at  rest  by  the  important  question  long  agitated  by 
the  feodal  lawyers  in  Europe,  "  whether  the  vassal  is  bound  to 
follow  the  standard  of  his  lord  against  his  own  kindred  or  against 
his  sovereign  "  :  which  in  these  States  is  illustrated  by  a  simple 
and  universal  proof.  If  the  question  were  put  to  a  Rajput  to 
whom  his  service  is  due,  whether  to  his  chief  or  his  sovereign,  the 

1  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  173.  *  See  Appendix,  No.  I. 

3  See  Appendix,  Noa.  II.  and  III. 


DUTIES  OP^  THE  VASSAL  CHIEFS  183 

reply  would  be,  Raj  ka  malik  ivuh,  pat  ^  ka  malik  yih  :  '  He  is  Lhe 
'Sovereign  of  the  State,  but  this  is  my  head' :  an  ambiguous  phrase, 
but  well  understood  to  imply  that  Iiis  own  immediate  chief  is 
the  only  authority  he  regards. 

This  will  appear  to  militate  against  the  right  of  remonstrance 
(as  in  the  case  of  the  vassals  of  Deogarh),  for  they  look  to  the 
crown  for  protection  against  injustice  ;  they  annihilate  other 
rights  by  admitting  appeal  higher  than  this.  Every  class  looks 
out  for  some  resource  against  oppression.  The  sovereign  is  the 
last  applied  to  on  such  occasions,  with  whom  the  sub-vassal  has 
no  bond  of  connexion.  He  can  receive  no  favour,  nor  perform 
any  service,  but  through  his  own  immediate  superior  ;  and  pre- 
sumes not  to  question  (in  cases  not  personal  to  himself)  the  pro- 
priety of  his  chief's  actions,  adopting  implicitly  his  feelings  [157] 
and  resentments.  The  daily  familiar  intercourse  of  life  is  far  too 
engrossing  to  allow  him  to  speculate,  and  with  his  lord  he  lives 
a  patriot  or  dies  a  traitor.  In  proof  of  this,  numerous  instances 
could  be  given  of  whole  clans  devoting  themselves  to  the  chief 
against  their  sovereign ;  ^  not  from  the  ties  of  kindred,  for  many 
were  aliens  to  blood  ;  but  from  the  ties  of  duty,  gratitude,  and 
all  that  constitutes  clannish  attachment,  superadded  to  feudal 
obligation.  The  sovereign,  as  before  observed,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  those  vassals  not  holding  directly  from  the  crown  ;  and 
those  who  wish  to  stand  well  with  their  chiefs  would  be  very  slow 
in  receiving  any  honours  or  favours  from  the  general  fountain- 
head.  The  Deogarh  chief  sent  one  of  his  sub- vassals  to  court 
on  a  mission  ;  his  address  and  deportment  gained  him  favour,  and 
his  consequence  was  increased  by  a  seat  in  the  presence  of  his 
sovereign.  When  he  returned,  he  found  this  had  lost  him  the 
favour  of  his  chief,  who  was  offended,  and  conceived  a  jealousy 
both  of  his  prince  and  his  servant.  The  distinction  paid  to  the 
latter  was,  he  said,  subversive  of  liis  proper  authority,  and  the 
vassal  incurred  by  his  vanity  the  loss  of  estimation  where  alone 
it  was  of  value. 

Obligations  of  a  Vassal. — The  attempt  to  define  all  the  obliga- 
tions of  a  vassal  would  be  endless  :  they  involve  all  the  duties  of 
kindred  in  addition  to  those  of  obedience.     To  attend  the  court 

^  Pat  means  '  head,'  '  chief.' 

^  The  death  of  the  chief  of  Nimaj,  in  the  Annals  of  Marwar,  and  Sheogarh 
Feud,  in  the  Personal  Narrative,  Vol.  II. 


184  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

of  his  chief  ;  never  to  absent  himself  without  leave  ;  to  ride  with 
him  a-hunting  ;  to  attend  him  at  the  court  of  his  sovereign  or  to 
war,  and  even  give  himself  as  a  hostage  for  his  release  ;  these  are 
some  of  the  duties  of  a  vassal. 


CHAPTER   3 

Feudal  Incidents. — I  shall  now  proceed  to  compare  the  more 
general  obligations  of  vassals,  known  under  the  term  of  '  Feudal 
Incidents  '  in  Europe,  and  show  their  existence  in  Rajasthan. 
These  were  six  in  num.ber  :  1.  Reliefs  ;  2.  Fines  of  alienation  ; 
3.  Escheats  ;  4.  Aids  ;  5.  Wardship  ;  6.  Marriage  [158]. 

Relief. — The  first  and  most  essential  mark  of  a  feudal  relation 
exists  in  all  its  force  and  purity  here  :  it  is  a  perpetually  recurring 
mark  of  the  source  of  the  grant,  and  the  solemn  renewal  of  the 
pledge  which  originally  obtained  it.  In  Mewar  it  is  a  virtual 
and  bona  fide  surrender  of  the  fief  and  renewal  thereof.  It  is 
thus  defined  in  European  polity  :  "A  relief  ^  is  a  sum  of  money 
due  from  every  one  of  full  age  taking  a  fief  by  descent."  It  was 
arbitrary,  and  the  consequent  exactions  formed  a  ground  of  dis- 
content ;  nor  was  the  tax  fixed  till  a  comparatively  recent  period. 

By  Magna  Charta  reliefs  were  settled  at  rates  proportionate 
to  the  dignity  of  the  holder."  In  France  the  relief  was  fixed  by 
the  customary  laws  at  one  year's  revenue.'  This  last  has  long 
been  the  settled  amount  of  nazarana,  or  fine  of  relief,  in  Mewar. 

^  "  Plusieurs  possesseurs  de  fiefs,  ayant  voulu  en  laisser  perpetuellement 
la  propriete  a  leurs  descendans,  prirent  des  arrangemens  avec  leur  Seigneur  ; 
et,  outre  ce  qu'ils  donnerent  pour  faire  le  marche,  lis  s'engagerent,  eux  et  leur 
posterite,  a  abandonner  pendant  une  annee,  au  Seigneur,  la  jouissance  entiere 
du  fief,  chaque  fois  que  le  dit  fief  changcrait  de  main.  C'est  ce  qui  forma  le 
droit  de  relief.  Quand  un  gentilhomme  avait  deroge,  il  pouvait  effaeer 
cotte  tachc  moycnnant  finances,  et  ce  qu'il  payait  s'appelait  relief,  il  recevait 
pour  quittance  des  lettres  de  relief  ou  de  rehabilitation-"  (Art.  '  Refief, 
Diet,  de  Vane.  Eegime). 

^  Namely,  "  the  heir  or  heirs  of  an  earl,  for  an  entire  earldom,  one  hundred 
pounds  ;  the  heir  or  heirs  of  a  baron,  for  an  entire  barony,  one  hundred 
marks  ;  the  heir  or  heirs  of  a  knight,  for  a  whole  knight's  fee,  one  hundred 
shilhngs  at  most  "  (Art.  III.  Magna  Charta). 

'  "  Le  droit  de  rachat  devoit  se  payer  a  chaque  mutation  d'heritier,  et 
se  paya  meme  d'abord  en  hgne  directe. — La  coutume  la  plus  generale 
i'avait  fixe  a  une  annee  du  revenue  "  {L'Esprit  des  Loix,  livre  xxxi.  chap, 
xxxiii.) 


RELIEFS  185 

Fine  paid  on  Succession. — On  the  demise  of  a  cliief,  the  prince 
inuTiediately  sends  a  party,  termed  the  zabti  (sequestrator),  con- 
sisting of  a  civil  olBcer  and  a  few  soldiers,  who  take  possession  of 
the  State  in  the  prince's  name.  The  heir  sends  his  prayer  to 
court  to  be  installed  in  the  property,  offering  the  proper  relief. 
This  paid,  the  chief  is  invited  to  repair  to  the  presence,  when  he 
performs  homage,  and  makes  protestations  of  service  and  fealty  ; 
he  receives  a  fresh  grant,  and  the  inauguration  terminates  by  the 
prince  girding  liim  with  a  sword,  in  the  old  forms  of  chivalry. 
It  is  an  imposing  ceremony,  performed  in  a  full  assembly  of  the 
court,  and  one  of  the  few  which  has  never  been  relinquished. 
The  fine  paid,  and  the  brand  buckled  to  his  side,  a  steed,  turban, 
plume,  and  dress  of  honour  given  to  the  chief,  the  investiture  ^ 
is  [159]  complete ;  the  sequestrator  returns  to  court,  and  the 
chief  to  his  estate,  to  receive  the  vows  and  congratulations  of 
his  vassals.^ 

In  this  we  plainly  perceive  the  original  power  (whether  exer- 
cised or  not)  of  resumption.  On  this  subject  more  will  appear 
in  treating  of  the  duration  of  grants.  The  kharg  bandhai,  or 
'  binding  of  the  sword,'  is  also  performed  when  a  Rajput  is  fit  to 
bear  arms  ;  as  amongst  the  ancient  German  tribes,  when  they 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  aspirant  for  fame  a  lance.  Such  are  the 
substitutes  for  the  toga  virilis  of  the  young  Roman.  The  Rana 
himself  is  thus  ordained  a  knight  by  the  first  of  his  vassals  in 
dignity,  the  chief  of  Salumbar. 

Renunciation  o£  Beliefs. — In  the  demoralization  of  all  those 
States,  some  of  the  chiefs  obtained  renimciation  of  the  fine  of 

^  That  symbolic  species  of  investiture  denominated  '  improper  investi- 
ture,' the  delivery  of  a  turf,  stone,  and  wand,  has  its  analogies  amongst  the 
mountaineers  of  the  AravalU.  The  old  baron  of  Badnor,  when  the  Mer 
villages  were  reduced,  was  clamorous  about  his  feudal  rights  over  those  wild 
people.  It  was  but  the  point  of  honour.  Erom  one  he  had  a  hare,  from 
another  a  bullock,  and  so  low  as  a  pair  of  sticks  which  they  use  on  the 
festivals  of  the  Hoh.  These  marks  of  vassalage  come  under  the  head  of 
'  petite  serjanteri '  (petit  serjeantry)  in  the  feudal  system  of  Europe  (see 
Art.  XLI.  of  Magna  Charta). 

^  ["  All  Rajput  Jagirdars,  or  holders  of  assigned  lands,  pay  nazarana  on 
the  accession  of  a  new  Maharana,  and  on  certain  other  occasions,  while  most 
of  them  pay  a  fine  called  Kaid  ['  imprisonment ']  on  succeeding  to  these 
estates.  On  the  death  of  a  Rajput  Jagirdar,  his  estates  immediately  revert 
to  the  Darbar,  and  so  remain  until  his  son  or  successor  is  recognized  by  the 
Maharana,  when  the  grant  is  renewed,  and  a  fresh  lease  taken  "  (Erskine 
ii.  A.  71).] 


186  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

relief,  which  was  tantamount  to  making  a  grant  in  perpetuity, 
and  annulling  the  most  overt  sign  of  paramount  sovereignty. 
But  these  and  many  other  important  encroachments  were  made 
when  little  remained  of  the  reality,  or  when  it  was  obscured  by 
a  series  of  oppressions  unexampled  in  any  European  State. 

It  is  in  Mewar  alone,  I  believe,  of  all  Rajasthan,  that  these 
marks  of  fealty  are  observable  to  such  an  extent.  But  what 
is  remarked  elsewhere  upon  the  fiefs  being  movable,  will  support 
the  doctrine  of  resumption  though  it  might  not  be  practised  :  a 
prerogative  may  exist  without  its  being  exercised. 

Fine  of  Alienation. — Rajasthan  never  attained  this  refine- 
ment indicative  of  the  dismemberment  of  the  system  ;  so  vicious 
and  self-destructive  a  notion  never  had  existence  in  these  States. 
Alienation  does  not  belong  to  a  system  of  fiefs  :  the  lord  would 
never  consent  to  it,  but  on  very  peculiar  occasions. 

In  Cutch,  amongst  the  Jareja  ^  tribes,  sub-vassals  may  alienate 
their  estates  ;  but  this  privilege  is  dependent  on  the  mode  of 
acquisition.  Perhaps  the  only  knowledge  we  have  in  Rajasthan 
of  alienation  requiring  the  sanction  of  the  lord  paramount,  is  in 
donations  for  pious  uses  :  but  this  is  partial.  We  see  in  the  re- 
monstrance of  the  Deogarh  vassals  the  opinion  they  entertained 
of  their  lord's  alienation  of  their  sub-fees  to  strangers,  and  without 
the  Rana's  consent  ;  which,  with  a  similar  train  of  conduct,  pro- 
duced sequestration  of  his  flef  till  they  were  reinducted  [160]. 

Tenants  of  the  Crown  may  Alienate. — The  agricultural  tenants, 
proprietors  of  land  held  of  the  crown,  may  alienate  their  rights 
upon  a  small  fine,  levied  merely  to  mark  the  transaction.  But 
the  tenures  of  these  non-combatants  and  the  holders  of  fees  are 
entirely  distinct,  and  cannot  here  be  entered  on,  further  than  to 
say  that  the  agriculturist  is,  or  was,  the  proprietor  of  the  soil  ; 
the  chief,  solely  of  the  tax  levied  thereon.  But  in  Europe  the 
alienation  of  the  feuduni  paternum  was  not  good  without  the 
consent  of  the  kindred  in  the  line  of  succession.^  This  would 
involve  sub-infeudation  and  frerage,  which  I  shall  touch  on 
distinctly,  many  of  the  troubles  of  these  countries  arising  there- 
from. 

^  Jareja  is  the  title  of  the  Rajput  race  in  Cutch  ;  they  are  descendants 
of  the  Yadus,  and  claim  from  Krishna.  In  early  ages  they  inhabited  the 
tracts  on  the  Indus  and  in  Seistan  [p.  102  above]. 

*  Wright  on  Tenures,  apud  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  185. 


ESCHEATS  AND  FORFEITURES  :  AIDS  187 

Escheats  and  Forfeitures. — The  flefs  which  v/ere  only  to  descend 
in  hneal  succession  reverted  to  the  crown  on  failure  of  heirs,  as 
they  could  not  be  bequeathed  by  will.  This  answers  equally  well 
for  England  as  for  Mewar.  I  have  witnessed  escheats  of  this 
kind,  and  foresee  more,  if  the  pernicious  practice  of  unlimited 
adoption  do  not  prevent  the  Rana  from  regaining  lands,  alienated 
by  himself  at  periods  of  contention.  Forfeitures  for  crimes 
must,  of  course,  occur,  and  these  are  partial  or  entire,  according 
to  the  delinquency. 

In  Marwar,  at  this  moment,  nearly  all  the  representatives  of 
the  great  fiefs  of  that  country  are  exiles  from  their  homes  :  a 
distant  branch  of  the  same  family,  the  prince  of  Idar,  would  have 
adopted  a  similar  line  of  conduct  but  for  a  timely  check  from  the 
hand  of  benevolence.^ 

There  is,  or  rather  was,  a  class  of  lands  in  Mewar  appended  to 
the  crown,  of  which  it  bestowed  life-rents  on  men  of  merit.  These 
were  termed  Chhorutar,  and  were  given  and  taken  back,  as  the 
name  implies  ;  in  contradistinction  to  grants  which,  though  origin- 
ating in  good  behaviour,  not  only  continued  for  life  but  descended 
in  perpetuity.  Such  places  are  still  so  marked  in  the  rent-roll, 
but  they  are  seldom  applied  to  the  proper  purpose. 

Aids. — Aids,  implying  '  free  gifts,'  or  '  benevolences,'  as  they 
were  termed  in  a  European  code,  are  well  known.  The  barar 
(war-tax)  is  well  understood  in  Mewar,  and  is  levied  on  many 
occasions  for  the  necessities  of  the  prince  or  the  head  of  a  clan. 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  dasaundh,  or  '  tenth,'  in  Mewar,  as  in 
Europe,  was  the  [161]  stated  sum  to  be  levied  in  periods  of  emer- 
gency or  danger.  On  the  marriage  of  the  daughters  of  the  prince, 
a  benevolence  or  contribution  was  always  levied  :  this  varied. 
A  few  years  ago,  when  two  daughters  and  a  granddaughter  were 
married  to  the  princes  of  Jaisalmer,  Bikaner,  and  Kishangarh,  a 
schedule  of  one-sixth,  to  portion  the  three,  was  made  out  ;  but 
it  did  not  realize  above  an  eighth.  In  this  aid  the  civil  officers 
of  government  contribute  equally  with  the  others.  It  is  a  point 
of  honour  with  all  to  see  their  sovereign's  daughters  married, 
and  for  once  the  contribution  merited  the  name  of  benevolence. 

^  The  Hon.  Mr.  Elphinstone,  Governor  of  Bombay.  As  we  prevented  the 
spoliation  of  Idar  by  the  predatory  powers,  we  are  but  right  in  seeing  that 
the  head  does  not  become  the  spoliator  himself,  and  make  these  brave  men 
"  wish  any  change  but  that  which  we  have  given  them." 


188  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

But  it  is  not  levied  solely  from  the  coffers  of  the  rich  ;  by  the 
chiefs  it  is  exacted  of  their  tenantry  of  all  classes,  who,  of  course, 
wish  such  subjects  of  rejoicing  to  be  of  as  rare  occurrence  as 
possible. 

"  These  feudal  aids  are  deserving  of  our  notice  as  the  com- 
mencement of  taxation,  of  which  they  long  answered  the  purpose, 
till  the  craving  necessities  and  covetous  policy  of  kings  established 
for  them  more  durable  and  onerous  burthens."  ^ 

The  great  chiefs,  it  may  be  assumed,  were  not  backward,  on 
like  occasions,  to  follow  such  examples,  but  these  gifts  were  more 
voluntary.  Of  the  details  of  aids  in  France  we  find  enumerated, 
"  paying  the  relief  to  the  suzerain  on  taking  possession  of  his 
lands  "  ;  ^  and  by  Magna  Charta  our  barons  could  levy  them  on 
the  following  counts  :  to  make  the  baron's  eldest  son  a  knight, 
to  marry  his  eldest  daughter,  or  to  redeem  his  person  from  cap- 
tivity. The  latter  is  also  one  occasion  for  the  demand  in  all  these 
covmtries.  The  chief  is  frequently  made  jDrisoner  in  their  preda- 
tory invasions,  and  carried  off  as  a  hostage  for  the  payment  of  a 
war  contribution.  Everything  disposable  is  often  got  rid  of  on 
an  occasion  of  this  kind.  Cceur  de  Lion  would  not  have  remained 
so  long  in  the  dungeons  of  Austria  had  his  subjects  been  Rajputs. 
In  Amber  the  most  extensive  benevolence,  or  barar,^  is  on  the 
marriage  of  the  Rajkumar,  or  heir  apparent. 

Wardship. — This  does  exist,  to  foster  the  infant  vassal  during 
minority  ;  but  often  terminating,  as  in  the  system  of  Europe,  in 
the  nefarious  act  of  defrauding  a  helpless  infant,  to  the  pecuniary 
benefit  of  some  court  favourite.  It  is  accordingly  [1G2]  here 
undertaken  occasionally  by  the  head  of  the  clan  ;  but  two  strong- 
recent  instances  brought  the  dark  ages,  and  the  purchase  of 
wardships  for  the  purpose  of  spoliation,  to  mind.  The  first  was 
in  the  Deogarh  chief  obtaining  by  bribe  the  entire  management 
of  the  lands  of  Sangramgarh,  on  pretence  of  improving  them  for 
the  infant,  Nahar  Singh,  whose  father  was  incapacitated  by 
derangement.  Nahar  was  a  junior  branch  of  the  clan  Sangawat, 
a  subdivision  of  the  Chondawat  clan,  both  Sesodias  of  the  Rana's 
blood.  The  object,  at  the  time,  was  to  unite  them  to  Deogarh, 
though  he  pleaded  duty  as  liead  of  the  clan.  His  nomination  of 
young  Nahar  as  liis  own  heir  gives  a  colouring  of  truth  to  his 

^  Hallara.  ^  Ducange,  apud  Hallam. 

^  Barar  is  the  generic  name  for  taxation. 


WARDSHIP  189 

intentions  ;  and  he  succeeded,  though  there  were  nearer  of  kin, 
who  were  set  aside  (at  the  wish  of  the  vassals  of  Deogarh  and 
witli  the  concurrence  of  the  sovereign)  as  unfit  to  head  them  or 
serve  him. 

Another  instance  of  the  danger  of  permitting  wardships, 
particularly  where  the  guardian  is  the  superior  in  clanship  and 
kindred,  is  exemplified  iii  the  Kalyanpur  estate  in  Mewar.  That 
property  had  been  derived  from  the  crown  only  two  generations 
back,  and  was  of  the  annual  value  of  ten  thousand  rupees.  The 
mother  having  little  interest  at  court,  the  Salumbar  chief,  by 
bribery  and  intrigue,  upon  paying  a  fine  of  about  one  year's  rent, 
obtained  possession  —  ostensibly  to  guard  the  infant's  rights ; 
but  the  falsehood  of  this  motive  was  soon  apparent.  There  were 
duties  to  perform  on  holding  it  which  were  not  thought  of.  It 
was  a  frontier  post,  and  a  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  quotas  to 
defend  that  border  from  the  incursions  of  the  wild  tribes  of  the 
south-west.  The  Salumbar  chief,  being  always  deficient  in  the 
quota  for  his  own  estate,  was  not  likely  to  be  very  zealous  in  his 
muster-roll  for  his  ward's,  and  complaints  were  made  which 
threatened  a  change.  The  chief  of  Chawand  was  talked  of  as 
one  who  would  provide  for  the  widow  and  minor,  who  could  not 
perform  the  duties  of  defence. 

The  sovereign  himself  often  assumes  the  guardianship  of 
minors  ;  but  the  mother  is  generally  considered  the  most  proper 
guardian  for  her  infant  son.  All  others  may  have  interests  of 
their  own  ;  she  can  be  actuated  by  his  welfare  alone.  Custom, 
therefore,  constitutes  her  the  guardian  ;  and  with  the  assistance 
of  the  elders  of  the  family,  she  rears  and  educates  the  young  chief 
till  he  is  fit  to  be  girded  with  the  sword  [103].^ 

The  Faujdar,  or  military  manager,  who  frequently  regulates 
the  household  as  weU  as  the  subdivisions  of  the  estate,  is  seldom 
of  the  kin  or  clan  of  the  chief  :  a  wise  regulation,  the  omission  of 
which  has  been  known  to  produce,  in  these  niaires  dii  palais  on  a 
small  scale,  the  same  results  as  will  be  described  in  the  larger. 
This  officer,  and  the  civil  functionary  who  transacts  all  the 
pecuniary  concerns  of  the  estate,  with  the  mother  and  her  family, 
are  always  considered  to  be  the  proper  guardians  of  the  minor. 
'  Blood  which  could  not  inherit,'  was  the  requisite  for  a  guardian 

^  The  charter  of  Henry  I.  promises  the  custody  of  heirs  to  the  mother  or 
next  of  kin  (Hallam,  vol.  ii.  p.  429). 


190  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

in  Europe/  as  here  ;   and  when  neglected,  the  results  are  in  both 
cases  the  same. 

Marriage. — Refinement  was  too  strong  on  the  side  of  the 
Rajput  to  admit  this  incident,  which,  with  that  of  wardship 
(both  partial  in  Europe),  illustrated  the  rapacity  ot  the  feudal 
aristocracy.  Every  chief,  before  he  marries,  makes  it  known  to 
his  sovereign.  It  is  a  compliment  which  is  expected,  and  is 
besides  attended  with  some  advantage,  as  the  prince  invariably 
confers  presents  of  honour,  according  to  the  station  of  the 
individual. 

No  Rajput  can  marry  in  his  own  clan  ;  and  the  incident  was 
originated  in  the  Norman  institutes,  to  prevent  the  vassal  marry- 
ing out  of  his  class,  or  amongst  the  enemies  of  his  sovereign.^ 

Thus,  setting  aside  marriage  (which  even  in  Europe  was  only 
partial  and  local)  and  alienation,  four  of  the  six  chief  incidents 
marking  the  feudal  system  are  in  force  in  Rajasthan,  viz.  relief, 
escheats,  aids,  and  wardships. 

Duration  of  Grants. — T  shall  now  endeavour  to  combine  all  the 
knowledge  I  possess  with  regard  to  the  objects  attained  in  granting 
lands,  the  nature  and  durability  of  these  grants,  whether  for  life 
and  renewable,  or  in  perpetuity.  I  speak  of  the  rules  as  under- 
stood in  Mewar.  We  ought  not  to  expect  much  system  in  what 
was  devoid  of  regularity,  even  according  to  the  old  principles  of 
European  feudal  law,  which,  though  now  reduced  to  some  fixed 
])rinciples,  originated  in,  and  was  governed  by,  fortuitous  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  after  often  changing  its  character,  ended  in 
despotism,  oligarchy,  or  democracy. 

Classes  of  Landholders. — There  are  two  classes  of  Rajput 
landholders  in  INIewar,  though  the  one  greatly  exceeds  the  other 
in  number.  One  is  the  Girasia  Thakur,  or  lord  ;  the  other  the 
Bliumia.  The  Girasia  chieftain  is  he  who  holds  (giras)  by  grant 
(pafto)  of  the  [164]  prince,  for  which  he  performs  service  with 
specified  quotas  at  home  and  abroad,  renewable  at  every  lapse, 
when  all  the  ceremonies  of  resumption,^  the  fine  of  relief,'*  and  the 
investiture  take  place. 

The  Bhumia  does  not  renew  his  grant,  but  holds  on  prescriptive 

1    Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  190. 

*  [The  nile  of  tribal  exogamy,  whatever  may  be  its  origin,  is  much  more 
primitive  than  the  author  supposed  (Sir  J.  G.  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy, 
i.  54  ff.).]  ^  Zahii,  'sequestration.'  *  Nazarana. 


GIRASIA  :  GRANTS  RESUMABLE  191 

possession.  He  succeeds  without  any  fine,  but  pays  a  small 
annual  quit-rent,  and  can  be  called  upon  for  local  service  in  the 
district  which  he  in.habits  for  a  certain  period  of  time.  He  is  the 
counterpart  of  the  allodial  proprietor  of  the  European  system, 
and  the  real  zamindar  of  these  principalities.  Both  have  the 
same  signification  ;  from  bhum  and  zamin,  '  land  '  :  the  latter 
is  an  exotic  of  Persian  origin. 

Girasia. — Girasia  is  from  giras,  '  a  subsistence  '  ;  literally  and 
familiarly  '  a  mouthful.'  Whether  it  may  have  a  like  origm  with 
the  Celtic  word  gwas,^  said  to  mean  '  a  servant,'  ^  and  whence  the 
word  vassal  is  derived,  I  shall  leave  to  etymologists  to  decide, 
who  may  trace  the  resemblance  to  the  girasia,  the  vassal  chieftain 
of  the  Rajputs.  All  the  chartularies  or  pattas  ^  commence, 
"  To  .  .  .  giras  has  been  ordained." 

Whether  Resumable. — It  has  always  been  a  subject  of  doubt 
whether  grants  were  resumable  at  pleasure,  or  without  some 
delinquency  imputable  to  the  vassal.  Their  duration  in  Europe 
was,  at  least,  the  life  of  the  possessor,  when  they  reverted  *  to 
the  fisc.  The  whole  of  the  ceremonies  in  cases  of  such  lapse  are 
decisive  on  this  point  in  Mewar.  The  right  to  resume,  therefore, 
may  be  presumed  to  exist  ;  while  the  non-practice  of  it,  the 
formalities  of  renewal  being  gone  through,  may  be  said  to  render 
the  right  a  dead  letter.  But  to  prove  its  existence  I  need  only 
mention,  that  so  late  as  the  reign  of  Rana  Sangram/  the  fiefs  of 
Mewar  were  actually  movable  ;  and  little  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half  has  passed  since  this  practice  ceased.  Thus  a  Rathor 
would  shift,  with  family,  chattels,  and  retainers,  from  the  north 
into  the  wUds  of  Chappan  ;  ^  while  the  Saktawat  relieved  would 

1  It  might  not  be  unworthy  of  research  to  trace  many  words  common  to 
the  Hindu  and  the  Celt ;  or  to  inquire  whether  the  Kimbri,  the  Juts  or 
Getae,  the  Sakasena,  the  Chatti  of  the  Elbe  and  Cimbric  Chersonese,  and 
the  ancient  Britons,  did  not  bring  their  terms  with  their  bards  and  votes 
(the  Bhats  and  Bardais)  from  the  highland  of  Scythia  east  of  the  Caspian, 
which  originated  the  nations  common  to  both,  improved  beyond  the  Wolga 
and  the  Indus  [?]. 

^  HaUam,  vol.  i.  155.     [Welsh,  Cornish  givas,  '  a  servant.'] 

*  Patta,  a  '  patent '  or  '  grant ' ;   Pattawat,  '  holder  of  the  fief  or  grant.' 

*  Montesquieu,  chaps,  xxv.,  liv.,  xxxi. 

^  Ten  generations  ago.  [At  present  an  estate  is  not  liable  to  confiscation 
save  for  some  gross  pohtical  offence  (Erskine  ii.  A.  71).] 

*  The  mountainous  and  woody  region  to  the  south-west,  dividing  Mewar 
from  Gujarat. 


192  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

occupy  the  plains  at  the  foot  of  the  Aravalli  ;  ^  or  a  Chondawat 
would  exchange  his  [165]  abode  on  the  banks  of  the  Chambal 
with  a  Pramara  or  Chauhan  from  the  table-mountain,  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Mewar.^ 

Since  these  exchanges  were  occurring,  it  is  evident  the  fiefs 
(pattas)  were  not  grants  in  perpetuity.  This  is  just  the  state  of 
the  benefices  in  France  at  an  early  period,  as  described  by  Gibbon, 
following  Montesquieu  :  "  Les  benefices  etoient  amovibles  :  bien- 
tot  ils  les  rendirent  perpetuels,  et  enfin  hereditaires."  ^  This  is 
the  precise  gradation  of  fiefs  in  Mewar  ;  movable,  perpetual,  and 
then  hereditary.  The  sons  were  occasionally  permitted  to  suc- 
ceed their  fathers  ;  *  an  indulgence  which  easily  grew  into  a  right, 
though  the  crown  had  the  indubitable  reversion.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, impossible  that  these  changes  ^  were  not  of  ancient  authority, 
but  arose  from  the  policy  of  the  times  to  prevent  infidelity. 

We  ought  to  have  a  high  opinion  of  princes  who  could  produce 
an  effect  so  powerful  on  the  minds  of  a  proud  and  turbulent 
nobility.  The  son  was  heir  to  the  title  and  power  over  the 
vassals'  personals  and  movables,  and  to  the  allegiance  of  his 
father,  but  to  nothing  which  could  endanger  that  allegiance. 

A  proper  apportioning  and  mixture  of  the  different  clans  was 
another  good  result  to  prevent  their  combinations  in  powerful 
families,  which  gave  effect  to  rebellion,  and  has  tended  more  than 
external  causes  to  the  ruin  which  the  State  of  Mewar  exhibits. 

^  The  grand  chain  dividing  the  western  from  the  central  States  of 
Rajasthan. 

^  Such  changes  were  triennial ;  and,  as  I  have  heard  the  prince  himself 
say,  so  interwoven  with  their  customs  was  this  rule  tJiat  it  caused  no  dis- 
satisfaction ;  but  of  this  we  may  be  allowed  at  least  to  doubt.  It  was  a 
perfect  check  to  the  imbibing  of  local  attachment ;  and  the  prohibition 
against  erecting  forts  for  refuge  or  defiance,  prevented  its  growth  if  acquired. 
It  produced  the  object  intended,  obedience  to  the  prince,  and  unity  against 
the  restless  Mogul.  Perhaps  to  these  institutions  it  is  owing  that  Mewar 
alone  never  was  conquered  by  the  kings  during  the  protracted  struggle  of 
seven  centuries  ;  though  at  length  worried  and  worn  out,  her  power  expired 
with  theirs,  and  predatory  spohation  completed  her  ruin. 

^  Gibbon,  Misc.  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  189  ;  Sur  le  systeme  feodal  surtout  en 
France. 

*  Hallam,  quoting  Gregory  of  Tours  ;   the  picture  drawn  in  a.d.  595. 

'  "  Fiefs  had  partially  become  hereditary  towards  the  end  of  the  first 
race :  in  these  days  they  had  not  the  idea  of  an  '  unah enable  fief.' "  Montes- 
quieu, vol.  ii.  p.  431.  The  historian  of  the  Middle  Ages  doubts  if  ever  they 
were  resumable  at  pleasure,  unless  from  delinquency. 


KALA  PATTAS  193 

Nobility  :  Introduction  o£  Foreign  Stocks. — Throughout  the 
various  gradations  of  its  nobility,  it  was  the  original  policy  to 
introduce  some  who  were  foreign  in  country  and  blood.  Chiefs  of 
the  Rathor,  Chauhan,  Pramara,  Solanki,  and  Bhatti  tribes  were 
intermingled.  Of  these  several  were  lineal  descendants  of  the 
most  ancient  races  of  the  kings  of  Delhi  and  Anhilwara  Patan  ;  ^ 
and  from  these,  in  order  to  preserve  the  purity  of  blood,  the 
princes  of  Mewar  took  their  wives,  when  the  other  princes  of 
Hind  assented  to  [166]  the  degradation  of  giving  daughters  in 
marriage  to  the  emperors  of  Delhi.  The  princes  of  Mewar  never 
yielded  in  this  point,  but  preserved  their  ancient  manners  amidst 
all  vicissitudes.  In  like  manner  did  the  nobles  of  the  Rana's 
blood  take  daughters  from  the  same  tribes  ;  the  interest  of  this 
foreign  race  was  therefore  strongly  identified  with  the  general 
welfare,  and  on  all  occasions  of  internal  turmoil  and  rebellion 
they  invariably  supported  their  prince.  But  when  these  wise 
institutions  were  overlooked,  when  the  great  clans  increased 
and  congregated  together,  and  the  crown  demesne  was  impover- 
ished by  prodigality,  rebellions  were  fostered  by  Mahratta 
rapacity,  which  were  little  known  during  the  lengthened  para- 
mount sway  of  the  kings  of  Delhi.  This  foreign  admixture 
will  lead  us  to  the  discussion  of  the  different  kinds  of  grants  : 
a  difference,  perhaps,  more  nominal  than  real,  but  exhibiting  a 
distinction  so  wide  as  to  imply  grants  resumable  and  irresum- 
able. 

Kala  Pattas. — It  is  elsewhere  related  that  two  great  clans, 
descendants  of  the  Ranas  Rae  Mall  and  Udai  Singh,  and  their 
numerous  scions,  forming  subdivisions  with  separate  titles  or 
patronymics,  compose  the  chief  vassalage  of  this  country. 

Exogamy. — Chondawat  and  Saktawat  are  the  stock  ;  the 
former  is  subdivided  into  ten,  the  latter  into  about  six  clans. 
Rajputs  never  intermarry  with  their  own  kin  :  the  prohibition 
has  no  limit  ;  it  extends  to  the  remotest  degree.  All  these  clans 
are  resolvable  into  the  generic  term  of  '  the  race  '  or  Kula  Sesodia. 
A  Sesodia  man  and  woman  cannot  unite  in  wedlock — all  these 
are  therefore  of  the  blood  royal  ;  and  the  essayists  on  population 
would  have  had  a  fine  field  in  these  quarters  a  century  ago,  ere 
constant  misery  had  thinned  the  coimtry,  to  trace  the  numerous 

^  The  Nahlwara  of  D'Anville  and  the  Arabian  travellers  of  the  eighth 
century,  the  capital  of  the  Balhara  kings. 

VOL.  I  O 


194  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

progeny  of  Chonda  and  Sakta  in  the  Genesis  ^  of  Mewar.  The 
Bhat's  genealogies  would  still,  to  a  certain  extent,  afford  the  same 
means. 

Descent  gives  a  strength  to  the  tenure  of  these  tribes  which 
the  foreign  nobles  do  not  possess  ;  for  although,  from  all  that 
has  been  said,  it  will  be  evident  that  a  right  of  reversion  and 
resumption  existed  (though  seldom  exercised,  and  never  but  in 
cases  of  crime),  yet  the  foreigner  had  not  this  strength  in  the  soil, 
even  though  of  twenty  generations'  duration.  The  epithet  of 
kala  patta,  or  '  black  grant,'  attaches  to  the  foreign  grant,  and  is 
admitted  by  the  holder,  from  which  the  kinsman  thinks  himself 
exempt.  It  is  virtually  a  grant  resumable  ;  nor  can  the  pos- 
sessors feel  that  security  which  the  other  widely  affiliated  aristo- 
cracies afford  [167].  When,  on  a  recent  occasion,  a  revision  of 
all  the  grants  took  place,  the  old  ones  being  called  in  to  be  renewed 
under  the  sign-manual  of  the  reigning  prince,  the  minister  himself 
visited  the  chief  of  Salumbar,  the  head  of  the  Chondawats,  at  his 
residence  at  the  capital,  for  this  purpose.  Having  become 
possessed  of  several  villages  in  the  confusion  of  the  times,  a 
perusal  of  the  grant  would  have  been  the  means  of  detection  ; 
and  on  being  urged  to  send  to  his  estate  for  it,  he  replied,  pointing 
to  the  palace,  "  My  grant  is  in  the  fovmdation  of  that  edifice  "  : 
an  answer  worthy  of  a  descendant  of  Chonda,  then  only  just  of 
age.  The  expression  marks  the  spirit  which  animates  this  people, 
and  recalls  to  mind  the  well-known  reply  of  our  own  Earl  Warenne, 
on  the  very  same  occasion,  to  the  quo  warranto  of  Edward  :  "  By 
their  swords  my  ancestors  obtained  this  land,  and  by  mine  will  I 
maintain  it." 

Hence  it  may  be  pronounced  that  a  grant  of  an  estate  is  for 
the  life  of  the  holder,  with  inheritance  for  his  offspring  in  lineal 
descent  or  adoption,  with  the  sanction  of  the  prince,  and  resum- 
able for  crime  or  incapacity  :  ^  this  reversion  and  power  of 
resumption  being  marked  by  the  usual  ceremonies  on  each  lapse 

^  Janam,  '  birth  ' ;  es,  '  lord  '  or  '  man.'  [See  p.  24  above.] 
^  "  La  loi  des  Lombards  oppose  les  benefices  a  la  propriete.  Les  his- 
toriens,  les  formules,  les  codes  des  differens  peuples  barbares,  tons  les  monu- 
mens  qui  nous  restent,  sont  unanimes.  Enfin,  ceux  qui  ont  ecrit  le  livre  dea 
fiefs,  nous  apprennent,  que  d'abord  les  Seigneurs  purent  les  oter  a  leur 
volonte,  qu'ensuite  ils  les  assurerent  pour  un  an,  et  apres  les  donnerenfc  pour 
la  vie  "  (L'Esprit  des  Loix,  chap.  xvi.  livre  30). 


THE  BHUMIAS  195 

of  the  grantee,  of  sequestration  (zabti),  of  relief  (nazarano),  of 
homage  and  investiture  of  the  heir.  Those  estates  held  by 
foreign  nobles  differ  not  in  tenure  ;  though,  for  the  reasons 
specified,  they  have  not  the  same  grounds  of  security  as  the 
others,  in  whose  welfare  the  whole  body  is  mterested,  feeling  the 
case  to  be  their  own  :  and  their  interests,  certainly,  have  not 
been  so  consulted  since  the  rebellions  of  S.  1822,^  and  subsequent 
years.  Witness  the  Chauhans  of  Bedla  and  Kotharia  (in  the 
Udaipur  valley),  and  the  Pramar  of  the  plateau  of  Mewar,  all 
chiefs  of  the  first  rank. 

The  difficulty  and  danger  of  resuming  an  old-established  grant 
'n  these  countries  are  too  great  to  be  lightly  risked.  Though  in 
all  these  estates  there  is  a  mixture  of  foreign  Rajputs,  yet  the 
blood  of  the  chief  predominates  ;  and  these  must  have  a  leader 
of  their  own,  or  be  incorporated  in  the  estates  of  the  nearest  of 
kin.  This  increase  might  not  be  desirable  for  the  crown,  but  the 
sub-vassals  cannot  be  turned  [168]  adrift  ;  a  resumption  therefore 
in  these  countries  is  widely  felt,  as  it  involves  many.  If  crime  or 
incapacity  render  it  necessary,  the  prince  inducts  a  new  head  of 
that  blood  ;  and  it  is  their  pride,  as  well  as  the  prince's  interest, 
that  a  proper  choice  should  be  made.  If,  as  has  often  occurred, 
the  title  be  abolished,  the  sub-vassals  retain  their  sub-infeuda- 
tions,  and  become  attached  to  the  crown. 

Many  estates  were  obtained,  during  periods  of  external  com- 
motion, by  threats,  combination,  or  the  avarice  of  the  prince — his 
short-sighted  policy,  or  that  of  his  ministers — which  have  been 
remedied  in  the  late  reorganization  of  Mewar  ;  where,  by  retro- 
grading half  a  century,  and  bringing  matters  as  near  as  po'ssible 
to  the  period  preceding  civil  dissension,  they  have  advanced  at 
least  a  century  towards  order. 

Bhumia,  the  Allodial  Proprietor. — It  is  stated  in  the  historical 
annals  of  this  country  that  the  ancient  clans,  prior  to  Sanga 
Rana,-  had  ceased,  on  the  rising  greatness  of  the  subsequent  new 
division  of  clans,  to  hold  the  higher  grades  of  rank  ;  and  had,  in 
fact,  merged  into  the  general  military  landed  proprietors  of  this 
country  under  the  term  bhumia,  a  most  expressive  and  compre- 
hensive name,  importing  absolute  identity  with  the  soil  :  bhum 
meaning  '  land,'  and  being  far  more  expressive  than  the  new- 

1  A.D.  1766. 
2  Contemporary  and  opponent  of  Sultan  Babur. 


196  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

fangled  word,  unknown  to  Hindu  India,  of  zamindar,  the  '  land- 
holder '  of  Muhammadan  growth.  These  Bhumias,  the  scions 
of  the  earliest  princes,  are  to  be  met  with  in  various  parts  of 
Mewar  ;  though  only  in  those  of  high  antiquity,  where  they  were 
defended  from  oppression  by  the  rocks  and  wilds  in  which  they 
obtained  a  footing  ;  as  in  Kumbhalmer,  the  wilds  of  Chappan, 
or  plains  of  Mandalgarh,  long  under  the  kings,  and  where  their 
agricultural  pursuits  maintained  them. 

Their  clannish  appellations,  Kumbhawat,  Lunawat,  and 
Ranawat,  distinctly  show  from  what  stem  and  when  they  branched 
off  ;  and  as  they  ceased  to  be  of  sufficient  importance  to  visit  the 
court  on  the  new  and  continually  extending  ramifications,  they 
took  to  the  plough.  But  while  they  disdained  not  to  derive  a 
subsistence  from  labouring  as  husbandmen,  they  never  abandoned 
their  arms  ;  and  the  Bhumia,  amid  the  crags  of  the  alpine  Aravalli 
where  he  pastures  his  cattle  or  cultivates  his  fields,  preserves  the 
erect  mien  and  proud  spirit  of  his  ancestors,  with  more  tractability, 
and  less  arrogance  and  folly,  than  his  more  [169]  courtly  but  now 
widely  separated  brethren,  who  often  make  a  jest  of  his  in- 
dustrious but  less  refined  qualifications.^  Some  of  these  yet 
possess  entire  villages,  which  are  subject  to  the  payment  of  a 
small  quit-rent  :  they  also  constitute  a  local  militia,  to  be  called 
in  by  the  governor  of  the  district,  but  for  which  service  they  are 
entitled  to  rations  or  peti.^     These,  the  allodial  ^  tenantry  of  our 

^  Many  of  them  taking  wives  from  the  degraded  but  aboriginal  races  in 
their  neighbouring  retreats,  have  begot  a  mixed  progeny,  who,  in  describing 
themselves,  unite  the  tribes  of  father  and  mother. 

^  Literally,  '  a  belly-full.' 

3  Allodial  property  is  defined  (Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  144)  as  "  land  which  had 
descended  by  inheritance,  subject  to  no  burthen  but  pubUc  defence.  It 
passed  to  all  the  children  equally  ;  in  failure  of  children,  to  the  nearest 
kindred."  Thus  it  is  strictly  the  Miras  or  Bhuni  of  the  Rajputs  :  inheritance, 
patrimony.  In  Mewar  it  is  divisible  to  a  certain  extent ;  but  in  Cutch,  to 
infinity  :  and  is  liable  only  to  local  defence.  The  holder  of  bhum  calls  it 
his  Adyapi,  i.e.  of  old,  by  prescriptive  right ;  not  by  written  deed.  Montes- 
quieu, describing  the  conversion  of  allodial  estates  into  fiefs,  says,  "These 
lands  were  held  by  Romans  or  Franks  (i.e.  freemen)  not  the  king's  vassals," 
viz.  lands  exterior  and  anterior  to  the  monarchy.  We  have  Rathor,  Solanki, 
and  other  tribes,  now  holding  bhum  in  various  districts,  whose  ancestors 
were  conquered  by  the  Sesodias,  but  left  in  possession  of  small  portions 
insufficient  to  cause  jealousy.     Some  of  these  may  be  said  to  have  converted 

their  lands  into  fiefs,  as  the  Chauhan  lord  of ,  who  served  the  Salumbar 

chief. 


FEUDAL  MILITIA  197 

feudal  system,  form  a  considerable  body  in  many  districts,  armed 
with  matchlock,  sword,  and  shield.  In  Mandalgarh,  when  their 
own  interests  and  the  prince's  unite  (though  the  rapacity  of 
governors,  pupils  of  the  Mahratta  and  other  predatory  schools, 
have  disgusted  these  independents),  four  thousand  Bhumias 
could  be  collected.  They  held  and  maintained  without  support 
the  important  fortress  of  that  district,  during  half  a  century  of 
turmoil,  for  their  prince.  Mandalgarh  is  the  largest  district  of 
Mewar,  and  in  its  three  hundred  and  sixty  towns  and  villages 
many  specimens  of  ancient  usage  may  be  found.  The  Solanki 
held  largely  here  in  ancient  days,  and  the  descendant  of  the 
princes  of  Patau  still  retains  his  Bhum  and  title  of  Rao.^ 

Feudal  Militia. — All  this  feudal  militia  pay  a  quit-rent  to  the 
crown,  and  perform  local  but  limited  service  on  the  frontier 
garrison  ;  and  upon  invasion,^  when  the  Kher  is  called  out,  the 
whole  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  prince  on  furnishing  rations 
only.  They  assert  that  they  ought  not  to  pay  this  quit-rent  and 
perform  service  also  ;  but  this  may  be  doubted,  since  the  sum 
is  so  small.  To  elude  it,  they  often  performed  service  under 
some  powerful  chief,  where  faction  or  court  interest  [170]  caused 
it  to  be  winked  at.  To  serve  without  a  patta  is  the  great  object 
of  ambition.  Ma  ka  bhum,  '  my  land,'  in  their  Doric  tongue,  is  a 
favourite  phrase.' 

^  Amidst  ruins  overgrown  with  forest,  I  discovered  on  two  tables  of  stone 
the  genealogical  history  of  this  branch,  which  was  of  considerable  use  in 
elucidating  that  of  Anhilwara,  and  which  corresponded  so  well  with  the 
genealogies  of  a  decayed  bard  of  the  family,  who  travelled  the  country  for  a 
subsistence,  that  I  feel  assured  they  formerly  made  good  use  of  these  marble 
records.  "  See  Appendix,  Nos.  XVI.  and  XVJI. 

*  I  was  intimately  acquainted  with,  and  much  esteemed,  many  of  these 
Bhumia  chiefs — from  my  friend  Paharji  (the  rock),  Ranawat  of  Amargarh, 
to  the  Kumbhawat  of  Sesoda  on  the  highest  point,  lord  of  the  jiass  of  the 
Aravalli ;  and  even  the  mountain  hon,  Dungar  Singh  who  bore  amongst  us, 
from  his  old  raids,  the  famiHar  title  of  Roderic  Dhu.  In  each  situation  I 
have  had  my  tents  filled  with  them  ;  and  it  was  one  of  the  greatest  pleasures 
I  ever  experienced,  after  I  had  taken  my  leave  of  them,  perhaps  for  ever, 
crossed  the  frontiers  of  Mewar,  and  encamped  in  the  dreary  pass  between  it 
and  Marwar,  to  find  that  a  body  of  them  had  been  my  guards  during  the 
night.  This  is  one  of  the  many  pleasing  recollections  of  the  past.  Fortu- 
nately for  our  happiness,  the  mind  admits  their  preponderance  over  opposite 
feeUngs.  I  had  much  to  do  in  aiding  the  restoration  of  their  past  condition  ; 
leaving,  I  believe,  as  few  traces  of  error  in  the  mode  as  could  be  expected, 
where  so  many  conflicting  interests  were  to  be  reconciled. 


198  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

Circumstances  have  concurred  to  produce  a  resemblance  even 
to  the  refined  fiction  of  giving  up  their  allodial  property  to  have 
it  conferred  as  a  fief.  But  in  candour  it  should  be  stated,  that 
the  only  instances  were  caused  by  the  desire  of  being  revenged 
on  the  immediate  superiors  of  the  vassals.  The  Rathor  chief  of 
Dabla  held  of  his  superior,  the  Raja  of  Banera,  three  considerable 
places  included  in  the  grant  of  Banera.  He  paid  homage,  an 
annual  quit-rent,  was  bound  to  attend  him  personally  to  court, 
and  to  furnish  thirty-five  horse  in  case  of  an  invasion.  During 
the  troubles,  though  perfectly  equal  to  their  performance,  he 
was  remiss  in  all  these  duties.  His  chief,  with  returning  peace, 
desired  to  enforce  the  return  to  ancient  customs,  and  his  rights 
so  long  withheld  ;  but  the  Rathor  had  ielt  the  sweets  of  entire 
independence,  and  refused  to  attend  his  smnmons.  To  the 
warrant  he  replied,  "  his  head  and  Dabla  were  together  "  ;  and 
he  would  neither  pay  the  quit-rent  nor  attend  his  court.  This 
refractory  spirit  was  reported  to  the  Rana  ;  and  it  ended  in  Dabla 
being  added  to  the  fisc,  and  the  chief's  holding  the  rest  as  a  vassal 
of  the  Rana,  but  only  to  perform  local  service.  There  are  many 
other  petty  free  proprietors  on  the  Banera  estate,  holding  from 
small  portions  of  land  to  sinall  villages  ;  but  the  service  is  limited 
and  local  in  order  to  swell  the  chief's  miniature  court.  If  they 
accompany  him,  he  must  find  rations  for  them  and  their  steeds. 

So  cherished  is  this  tenure  of  Bhum,  that  the  greatest  chiefs 
are  always  solicitous  to  obtain  it,  even  in  the  villages  wholly 
dependent  on  their  authority  :  a  decided  proof  of  its  durability 
above  common  grants.  The  various  modes  in  which  it  is  ac- 
quired, and  the  precise  technicalities  which  distinguished  its 
tenure,  as  well  as  the  privileges  attached  to  it,  are  fully  developed 
in  translations  of  different  deeds  on  the  subject  [171].^ 

Rajas  of  Banera  and  Shahpura.— We  have  also,  amongst  the 
nobilitj'^  of  Mewar,  two  who  hold  the  independent  title  of  prince 
or  raja,  one  of  whom  is  by  far  too  powerful  for  a  subject.  These 
are  the  Rajas  of  Banera  and  Shahpura,  both  of  the  blood  royal. 
The  ancestor  of  the  first  was  the  twin-brother  of  Rana  Jai  Singh  ; 
the  other,  a  Ranawat,  branched  off  from  Rana  Udai  Singh. 

They  have  their  grants  renewed,  and  receive  the  khilat  of 
investiture  ;  but  they  pay  no  relief,  and  are  exempt  from  all 
but  persona]  attendance  at  their  prince's  court,  and  the  local 
^  See  Appendix. 


SUB-INFEUDATION  199 

service  of  the  district  in  which  their  estates  are  situated.  They 
have  hitherto  paid  but  Httle  attention  to  their  duties,  but  this 
defect  arose  out  of  the  times.  These  lands  lying  most  exposed 
to  the  imperial  headquarters  at  Ajmer,  they  were  compelled  to 
bend  to  circumstances,  and  the  kings  were  glad  to  confer  rank 
and  honour  on  such  near  relations  of  the  Rana's  house.  He 
bestowed  on  them  the  titles  of  Raja,  and  added  to  the  Shahpura 
chief's  patrimony  a  large  estate  in  Ajmer,  which  he  now  holds 
direct  of  the  British  Government,  on  payment  of  an  annual  tribute. 

Form  and  Substance  o£  Grant. — To  give  a  proper  idea  of  the 
variety  of  items  forming  these  chartularies,  I  append  several  * 
which  exhibit  the  rights,  privileges,  and  honours,  as  well  as  the 
sources  of  income,  while  they  also  record  the  terms  on  which  they 
are  granted.  Many  royalties  have  been  alienated  in  modern  times 
by  the  thoughtless  prodigality  of  the  princes  ;  even  the  grand 
mark  of  vassalage,  the  fine  of  relief,  has  been  forgiven  to  one  or  two 
individuals  ;  portions  of  transit  duties,  tolls  on  ferries,  and  other 
seignorial  rights ;  coining  copper  currency;  exactions  of  every  kind, 
from  the  levy  of  toll  for  night  protection  of  merchandise  and  for  the 
repairs  of  fortifications,  to  the  share  of  the  depredations  of  the  com- 
mon robber,  will  sufficiently  show  the  demoralization  of  the  country. 

Division  of  Pattas,  or  Sub-infeudation. — Many  years  ago,  when 
the  similarity  of  the  systems  first  struck  my  attention,  I  took 
one  of  the  grants  or  pattas  of  a  great  vassal  of  Jaipur,  and  dis- 
sected it  in  all  its  minutiae,  with  the  aid  of  a  very  competent 
authority  who  had  resided  as  one  of  the  managers  of  the  chief. 
This  document,  in  which  the  subdivision  of  the  whole  clan  is 
detailed,  materially  aided  me  in  developing  the  system  [172]. 

The  court  and  the  household  economy  of  a  great  chieftain  is 
a  miniature  representation  of  the  sovereign's  :  the  same  officers, 
from  the  pardhan,  or  minister,  to  the  cup-bearer  (paniyari),  as 
well  as  the  same  domestic  arrangements.  He  must  have  his 
sliish-mahall,-  his  hari-mahaU,^  and  his  mandir,*  like  his  prince. 

1  See  Appendix,  Nos.  IV.,  V.,  VI. 

^  Mirror  apartments.  [To  meet  the  demand  for  the  glass  mosaics  seen 
in  the  palaces  of  Rajputana,  the  Panjab,  and  Burma,  the  industry  of  blowing 
glass  globes,  silvered  inside,  came  into  existence.  The  globes  are  broken 
into  fragments,  and  set  in  cement  (in  Burma  in  laquer),  and  used  to  decorate 
the  walls  (Watt,  C'omm.  Prod.  563,  717  f.).  There  is  a  Shish  Mahall  in  the 
Agra  Fort.]  ^  Gardens  on  the  terrace  within  the  palace. 

*  Private  temple  of  worship. 


200  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

He  enters  the  dari-sala,  or  carpet  hall,  the  minstrel  ^  preceding 
him  rehearsing  the  praises  of  his  family  ;  and  he  takes  his  seat 
on  his  throne,  while  the  assembled  retainers,  marshalled  in  lines 
on  the  right  and  left,  simultaneously  exclaim,  "  Health  to  our 
chief !  "  which  salutation  he  returns  by  bowing  to  all  as  he  passes 
them.  When  he  is  seated,  at  a  given  signal  they  all  follow  the 
example,  and  shield  rattles  against  shield  as  they  wedge  into 
their  places. 

We  have  neither  the  kiss  nor  individual  oaths  of  fidelity 
administered.  It  is  sufficient,  when  a  chief  succeeds  to  his  patri- 
mony, that  his  '  aw  '  ^  is  proclaimed  within  his  sim  or  boundary. 
Allegiance  is  as  hereditary  as  the  land  :  "I  am  your  child  ;  my 
head  and  sword  are  yours,  my  service  is  at  your  command." 
It  is  a  rare  thing  for  a  Rajput  to  betray  his  Thakur,  while  the 
instances  of  self-devotion  for  him  are  innumerable  :  many  will 
be  seen  interspersed  in  these  papers.  Base  desertion,  to  their 
honour  be  it  said,  is  little  known,  and  known  only  to  be  execrated. 
Fidelity  to  the  chief,  Swamidharma,  is  the  climax  of  all  the  virtues. 
The  Rajput  is  taught  from  his  infancy,  in  the  song  of  the  bard, 
to  regard  it  as  the  source  of  honour  here,  and  of  happiness  here- 
after. The  poet  Chand  abounds  with  episodes  on  the  duty  and 
beauty  of  fidelity  ;  nor  does  it  require  a  very  fervid  imagination 
to  picture  the  affections  which  such  a  life  is  calculated  to  promote, 
when  the  chief  is  possessed  of  the  qualities  to  call  them  forth. 
At  the  chase  his  vassals  attend  him  :  in  the  covert  of  the  forest, 
the  ground  their  social  board,  they  eat  their  repast  together, 
from  the  venison  or  wild  boar  furnished  by  the  sport  of  the  day  ; 
nor  is  the  cup  neglected.  They  are  familiarly  admitted  at  all 
times  to  his  presence,  and  accompany  him  to  the  court  of  their 
mutual  sovereign.     In  short,  they  are  inseparable.' 

Their  having  retained  so  much  of  their  ancient  manners  and 
customs,  during  [173]  centuries  of  misery  and  oppression,  is  the 
best  evidence  that  those  customs  were  riveted  to  their  very  souls. 
The  Rajput  of  character  is  a  being  of  the  most  acute  sensibility  ; 

^  DhoU. 

^  An  is  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Three  things  in  Mewar  are  royalties  a 
subject  cannot  meddle  with  :  1,  ^n,  or  oath  of  allegiance  ;  2,  Dan,  or  transit 
dues  on  commerce  ;    3,  Khan,  or  mines  of  the  precious  metals. 

^  I  rather  describe  what  they  were,  than  what  they  are.  Contentions  and 
poverty  have  weakened  their  sympathies  and  affections ;  but  the  mind  of 
philanthropy  must  hope  that  they  will  again  become  what  they  have  been. 


CHARSA  201 

where  honour  is  concerned,  the  most  trivial  omission  is  often 
ignorantly  construed  into  an  affront. 

Provision  for  Chief's  Relations. — In  all  the  large  estates  the 
chief  must  provide  for  his  sons  or  brothers,  according  to  his 
means  and  the  number  of  immediate  descendants.  In  an  estate 
of  sixty  to  eighty  thousand  rupees  of  annual  rent,  the  second 
brother  might  have  a  village  of  three  to  Ave  thousand  of  rent. 
This  is  his  patrimony  (bnpota)  :  he  besides  pushes  his  fortune 
at  the  court  of  his  sovereign  or  abroad.  Juniors  share  in  propor- 
tion. These  again  subdivide,  and  have  their  little  circle  of 
dependents.  Each  new  family  is  known  by  the  name  of  the 
founder  conjoined  to  that  of  his  father  and  tribe  :  Man  Megh- 
singhgot  Saktawat  ;  that  is,  '  Man,  family  of  Megh,  tribe  Sak- 
tawat.'     The  subdivisions  descend  to  the  lowest  denomination. 

Charsa. —  Charsa,  a  '  hide  of  land,'  or  al)out  sufficient  to 
furnish  an  equipped  cavalier.  It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that 
the  term  for  the  lowest  subdivision  of  land  for  military  service 
should  be  the  same  amongst  the  Rajputs  as  in  the  English  system. 
Besides  being  similar  in  name,  it  nearly  corresponds  in  actual 
quantity.  From  the  beginning  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  government 
the  land  was  divided  into  hides,  each  comprehending  what  could 
be  cultivated  by  a  single  plough.^  Four  hides  constituted  one 
knight's  fee,^  which  is  stated  to  be  about  forty  acres.  The  Charsa 
may  have  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  bighas  ;  which  are  equal 
to  about  ten  acres — the  Saxon  hide. 

For  what  these  minor  vassals  held  to  be  their  rights  on  the 
great  pattawats,  the  reader  is  again  referred  to  the  letter  of  protest 
of  the  inferior  jjattawats  of  the  Deogarh  estate  —  it  may  aid 
his  judgement  ;  and  it  is  curious  to  observe  how  nearly  the 
subject  of  their  prayer  to  the  sovereign  corresponded  with  the 
edict  of  Conrad  of  Italy,'  in  the  year  1037,  which  originated  in 

^  Millar's  Historical  View  of  the  English  Government,  p.  85.  [See  p.  156 
above.] 

*  Hume,  History  of  England,  Appendix  II.  vol.  ii.  p.  291. 

^  "  1.  That  no  man  should  be  deprived  of  his  fief,  whether  held  of  the 
emperor  or  mesne  lord,  but  by  the  laws  of  the  empire  and  judgement  of  his 
peers.  2.  That  from  such  judgeinent  the  vassal  might  appeal  to  his  sovereign. 
3.  That  fiefs  should  be  inherited  by  sons  and  their  children,  or  in  their 
failure  by  brothers,  provided  they  were  feuda.  paterna,  such  as  had  descended 
fi-om  the  father.  4.  That  the  lord  should  not  alienate  the  fief  of  his  vassal 
without  his  consent.' 


202  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

disagreements  between  the  great  lords  and  their  vassals  on  the 
subject  of  sub-infeudations  [174]. 

The  extent  to  which  the  subdivision  before  mentioned  is  carried 
in  some  of  the  Rajput  States,  is  ruinous  to  the  protection  and 
general  welfare  of  the  country.  It  is  pursued  in  some  parts  till 
there  is  actually  nothing  left  sufficiently  large  to  share,  or  to 
furnish  subsistence  for  one  individual  :  consequently  a  great 
deprivation  of  services  to  the  State  ensues.  But  this  does  not 
prevail  so  much  in  the  larger  principalities  as  in  the  isolated 
tributary  Thakurats  or  lordships  scattered  over  the  country  ;  as 
amongst  the  Jarejas  of  Cutch,  the  tribes  in  Kathiawar,  and 
the  small  independencies  of  Gujarat  bordering  on  the  greater 
western  Rajput  States.  This  error  in  policy  requires  to  be 
checked  by  supreme  authority,  as  it  was  in  England  by  Magna 
Charta,^  when  the  barons  of  those  days  took  such  precautions 
to  secure  their  own  seignorial  rights. 

Brotherhood. — -The  system  in  these  countries  of  minute  sub- 
division of  fiefs  is  termed  bhayyad,^  or  brotherhood,  synonymous 
to  the  tenure  by  frerage  of  France,  but  styled  only  an  approxi- 
mation to  sub-infeudation.^  "  Give  me  my  bat  (share),"  says 
the  Rajput,  when  he  attains  to  man's  estate,  '  the  bat  of  the 
bhayyad,'  the  portion  of  the  frerage  ;  and  thus  they  go  on  clipping 
and  paring  till  all  are  impoverished.  The  '  customs  '  of  France  * 
preserved  the  dignities  of  families  and  the  indivisibility  of  a  feudal 
homage,  without  exposing  the  younger  sons  of  a  gentleman  to 
beggary  and  dependence.  It  would  be  a  great  national  benefit 
if  some  means  could  be  found  to  limit  this  subdivision,  but  it  is 
an  evil  difficult  of  remedy.  The  divisibility  of  the  Cutch  and 
Kathiawar  frerage,  carried  to  the  most  destructive  extent,  is  pro- 
ductive of  litigation,  crime,  and  misery.  Where  it  has  proper 
limits  it  is  useful  ;  but  though  the  idea  of  each  rood  supporting 
its  man  is  very  poetical,  it  does  not  and  cannot  answer  in  practice. 
Its  limit  in  Mewar  we  would  not  undertake  to  assert,  but  the 
vassals  are  careful  not  to  let  it  become  too  small  ;  they  send  the 
extra  numbers  to  seek  their  fortunes  abroad.  In  this  custom* 
and  the  difficulty  of  finding  daejas,  or  dowers,  for  their  daughters, 

^  By  the  revised  statute.  Quia  emptores,  of  Edw.  I.,  which  forbids  it  in 
excess,  under  penalty  of  forfeiture  (Hallam,  vo].  i.  p.  184). 
^  Bhayyad,  '  frerage.' 
3  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  186.  *  Ibid. 


RAKHWALI  203 

we  have  the  two  chief  causes  of  infanticide  amongst  the  Rajputs, 
which  horrible  practice  was  not  always  confined  to  the  female. 

The  author  of  the  Middle  Ages  exemplifies  ingeniously  the 
advantages  of  sub-[175]infeudation,  by  the  instance  of  two 
persons  holding  one  knight's  fee  ;  and  as  the  lord  was  entitled 
to  the  service  of  one  for  forty  days,  he  could  commute  it  for  the 
joint  service  of  the  two  for  twenty  days  each.  He  even  erects 
as  a  maxim  on  it,  that  "  whatever  opposition  was  made  to  the 
rights  of  sub-infeudation  or  frerage,  would  indicate  decay  in  the 
military  character,  the  living  principle  of  feudal  tenure "  ;  ^ 
which  remark  may  be  just  where  proper  limitation  exists,  before 
it  reaches  that  extent  when  the  impoverished  vassal  would  descend 
to  mend  his  shoes  instead  of  liis  shield.  Primogeniture  is  the 
corner-stone  of  feudality,  but  this  unrestricted  sub-infeudation 
would  soon  destroy  it."  It  is  strong  in  these  States  ;  its  rights 
were  first  introduced  by  the  Normans  from  Scandinavia.  But 
more  will  appear  on  this  subject  and  its  technicalities,  in  the 
personal  narrative  of  the  author. 


CHAPTER   4 

Rakhwali. — I  now  proceed  to  another  point  of  striking 
resemblance  between  the  systems  of  the  east  and  west,  arising  from 
the  same  causes — the  unsettled  state  of  society,  and  the  deficiency 
of  paramount  protection.  It  is  here  called  rakhwali,^  or  '  pre- 
servation '  ;  the  salvamenta  of  Europe.*  To  a  certain  degree  it 
always  existed  in  these  States  ;    but  the  interminable  predatory 

^  Hallara,  vol.  i.  p.  186. 

"  ■'  Le  droit  d'ainesse  a  cause,  pendant  I'existence  du  regime  feodal,  une 
multitude  de  guerres  et  de  proces.  Notre  histoire  nous  presente,  a  chaque 
page,  des  cadets  reduits  a  la  mendicite,  se  Kvrant  a  toutes  sortes  de  brigan- 
dages pour  reparer  les  torts  de  la  fortune  ;  des  aines,  refusant  la  legitime  a 
leurs  freres  ;  des  cadets,  assassinant  leur  aine  pour  lui  succeder,  etc."  (see 
article,  '  Droit  d'ainesse,'  Diet,  de  VAncien  Regime). 

^  See  Appendix,  Nos.  VII.,  VIII.,  and  IX. 

*  This  is  the  '  sauvement  ou  vingtain  '  of  the  French  system  :  there  it 
ceased  with  the  cause.  "  Les  guerres  (feudal)  cesserent  avec  le  regime 
feodal,  et  les  paysans  n'eurent  plus  besoin  de  la  protection  du  Seigneur  ;  on 
ne  les  for9a  pas  moins  de  reparer  son  chateau,  et  de  lui  payer  le  droit  qui 
se  nommait  de  sauvement  ou  vingtain  "  (Art.  '  Chateau,'  Diet,  de  VAncien 
Regime). 


204  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

warfare  of  the  last  half  century  increased  it  to  so  frightful  an 
extent  that  superior  authority  was  required  to  redeem  the  abuses 
it  had  occasioned.  It  originated  in  the  necessity  of  protection  ; 
and  the  modes  of  obtaining  it,  as  well  as  the  compensation  [176] 
when  obtained,  were  various.  It  often  consisted  of  money  or 
kind  on  the  reaping  of  each  harvest  :  sometimes  in  a  multi- 
plicity of  petty  privileges  and  advantages,  but  the  chief  object 
was  to  obtain  bhwn  :  and  here  we  have  one  solution  of  the  con- 
stituted bhumia,^  assimilating,  as  observed,  to  the  allodial  pro- 
prietor. Bhum  thus  obtained  is  irrevocable  ;  and  in  the  eager 
anxiety  for  its  acquisition  we  have  another  decided  proof  of 
every  other  kind  of  tenure  being  deemed  resumable  by  the  crown. 
It  was  not  unfrequent  that  application  for  protection  was 
made  to  the  nearest  chief  by  the  tenants  of  the  fisc  ;  a  course 
eventually  sanctioned  by  the  Government,  which  could  not  refuse 
assent  where  it  could  not  protect.  Here,  then,  we  revert  to  first 
principles  ;  and  '  seignorial  rights  '  may  be  forfeited,  when  they 
cease  to  yield  that  which  ought  to  have  originated  them,  viz. 
benefit  to  the  community.  Personal  service  at  stated  periods, 
to  aid  in  the  agricultural  ^  economy  of  the  protector,  was  some- 
times stipulated,  when  the  husbandmen  were  to  find  implements 
and  cattle,*  and  to  attend  whenever  ordered.  The  protected 
calls  the  chief  '  patron  '  ;  and  the  condition  may  not  unaptly  be 
compared  to  that  of  personal  commendation,*  like  salvamenta, 
founded  on  the  disturbed  state  of  society.  But  what  originated 
thus  was  often  continued  and  multiplied  by  avarice,  and  the 
spirit  of  rapine,  which  disgraced  the  Rajput  of  the  last  half 
century,  though  he  had  abundance  of  apologies  for  '  scouring 
the  country.'  But  all  salvamenta  and  other  marks  of  vassalage, 
obtained  during  these  times  of  desolation,  were  annulled  in  the 
settlement  which  took  place  between  the  Rana  and  his  chiefs, 
in  A.D.  1818^  [177]. 

^  The  chief  might  lose  his  patta  landsj^and  he  would  then  dwindle  down 
into  the  bhumia  proprietor,  which  title  only  lawless  force  could  take  from 
him.     See  Appendix,  No.  IX. 

^  See  Appendix,  No.  X.,  Art.  II. 

^  This  species  would  come  under  the  distinct  term  of  Hydages  due  by 
soccage  vassals,  who  in  return  for  protection  supply  carriages  and  work 
(Hume,  vol.  ii.  p.  308). 

*  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  169. 

^  In  indulging  my  curiosity  on  this  subject,  1  collected  some  hundred 


RAKHWALI,  BASAl  205 

But  the  crown  itself,  by  some  singular  proceeding,  possesses, 
or  did  possess,  according  to  the  Patta  Bahi,  or  Book  of  Grants, 
considerable  salvnmenta  right,  especially  in  the  districts  between 
the  new  and  ancient  capitals,  in  sums  of  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  rupees  in  separate  villages. 

To  such  an  extent  has  this  rakhwali  ^  been  carried  when  pro- 
tection was  desired,  that  whole  communities  have  ventured  their 
liberty,  and  become,  if  not  slaves,  yet  nearly  approaching  the 
condition  of  slaves,  to  the  protector.  But  no  common  visitation 
ever  leads  to  an  evil  of  this  magnitude.  I  mention  the  fact  merely 
to  show  that  it  does  exist  ;  and  we  may  infer  that  the  chief,  who 
has  become  the  arbiter  of  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  his  followers, 
must  have  obtained  this  power  by  devoting  all  to  their  protection. 
The  term  thus  originated,  and  probably  now  (with  many  others) 
written  for  the  first  time  in  English  letters  in  this  sense,  is  Basai. 

engagements,  and  many  of  a  most  singular  nature.  We  see  the  chieftain 
stipulating  for  fees  on  marriages  ;  for  a  dish  of  the  good  fare  at  the  wedding 
feast,  which  he  transfers  to  a  relation  of  his  district  if  unable  to  attend  him- 
self ;  portions  of  fuel  and  provender ;  and  even  wherewithal  to  fill  the 
wassail  cup  in  his  days  of  merriment.  The  Rajput's  rehgious  notions  are 
not  of  so  strict  a  character  as  to  prevent  his  even  exacting  his  rakhwali  dues 
from  the  churcli  lands,  and  the  threat  of  slaughtering  the  sacred  flock  of  our 
Indian  Apollo  has  been  resorted  to,  to  compel  payment  when  withheld. 
Nay,  by  the  chiefs  it  was  imposed  on  things  locomotive  :  on  caravans,  or 
Tandas  of  merchandise,  wherever  they  halted  for  the  day,  rakhwali  was 
demanded.  Each  petty  chief  through  whose  district  or  patch  of  territory 
they  travelled,  made  a  demand,  till  commerce  was  dreadfully  shackled  ; 
but  it  was  the  only  way  in  which  it  could  be  secured.  It  was  astonishing 
how  commerce  was  carried  on  at  all ;  yet  did  the  cloths  of  Dacca  and  the 
shawls  of  Kashmir  pass  through  all  such  restraints,  and  were  never  more  in 
request.  Where  there  is  demand  no  danger  will  deter  enterprise ;  and 
commerce  flourished  more  when  these  predatory  armies  were  rolUng  like 
waves  over  the  land,  than  during  the  succeeding  halcyon  days  of  pacification. 
^  The  method  by  which  the  country  is  brought  under  this  tax  is  as 
follows :  "  When  the  people  are  almost  ruined  by  continual  robberies  and 
plunders,  the  leader  of  the  band  of  thieves,  or  some  friend  of  his,  proposes 
that,  for  a  sum  of  money  annually  paid,  he  will  keep  a  number  of  men  in 
arms  to  protect  such  a  tract  of  ground,  or  as  many  parishes  as  submit  to  the 
contribution.  When  the  terms  are  agreed  upon  he  ceases  to  steal,  and 
thereby  the  contributors  are  safe  :  if  any  one  refuse  to  pay,  he  is  immediately 
plundered.  To  colour  all  this  villainy,  those  concerned  in  the  robberies  pay 
the  tax  with  the  rest ;  and  all  the  neighbourhood  must  comply  or  be  undone. 
This  is  the  case  (among  others),  with  the  whole  low  country  of  the  shire  of 
Ross  "  (Extract  from  Lord  Lovat's  Memorial  to  George  I.  on  the  State  of 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  in  a.d.  1724). 


206  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

Basai,  Slavery. — Slavery  is  to  be  found  in  successive  stages  of 
society  of  Europe,  but  we  have  no  parallel  in  Rajwara  (at  least 
in  name)  to  the  agricultural  serfs  and  villains  of  Europe  ;  nor  is 
there  any  intermediate  term  denoting  a  species  of  slavery  between 
the  Gola  ^  of  the  Hindu  chief's  household  and  the  free  Rajput 
but  the  singular  one  of  basai,  which  must  be  explained,  since  it 
cannot  be  translated.  This  class  approximates  closely  to  the 
trihutarii  and  coloni,  perhaps  to  the  servi,  of  the  Salic  Franks, 
"  who  were  cultivators  of  the  earth,  and  subject  to  residence 
upon  their  master's  estate,  though  not  destitute  of  property  or 
civil  rights."  ^  Precisely  the  condition  of  the  cultivator  in  Haraoti 
who  now  tills  for  a  taskmaster  the  fields  he  formerly  owned,  de- 
graded to  the  name  of  hali,^  a  ploughman. 

"  \Vlien  small  proprietors,"  saj^s  Hallam,  "  lost  their  lands  by 
mere  rapine,  we  may  believe  their  liberty  was  hardly  less  en- 
dangered." The  hali  of  Haraoti  knows  the  bitter  truth  of  this 
inference,  which  applies  to  the  subject  immediately  before  us, 
[178]  the  basai.  The  portion  of  liberty  the  latter  has  parted 
with,  was  not  originally  lost  through  compulsion  on  the  part  of 
the  protector,  but  from  external  violence,  which  made  this 
desperate  remedy  necessary.  Very  different  from  the  hali  of 
Kotah,  who  is  servile  though  without  the  title — a  serf  in  con- 
dition but  without  the  patrimony  ;  compelled  to  labour  for 
subsistence  on  the  land  he  once  owned  ;  chained  to  it  by  the 
double  tie  of  debt  and  strict  police  ;  and  if  flight  were  practicable, 
the  impossibility  of  bettering  his  condition  from  the  anarchy 
around  would  render  it  unavailing.  This  is  not  the  practice 
under  the  patriarchal  native  government,  which,  with  all  its 
faults,  retains  the  old  links  of  society,  with  its  redeeming  sym- 
pathies ;  but  springs  from  a  maire  du  palais,  who  pursued  an 
unfeeling  and  mistaken  policy  towards  this  class  of  society  till 
of  late  years.  Mistaken  ambition  was  the  origin  of  the  evil  ;  he 
saw  his  error,  and  remedied  it  in  time  to  prevent  further  inischief 
to  the  State.  This  octogenarian  ruler,  Zalim  Singh  of  Kotah, 
is  too  much  of  a  philosopher  and  politician  to  let  passion  over- 

^  In  Persian  ghuldm,  literally  '  slave  ' ;  evidently  a  word  of  the  same 
origin  with  the  Hindu  gola.     [The  words  have  no  connexion.] 

2  HaUam,  vol.  i.  p.  217. 

^  From  hal,  '  a  plough.'  Syl  is  '  a  plough  '  in  Saxon  (Turner's  Anglo- 
Saxons).  The  h  and  s  are  permutable  throughout  Rajwara.  [The  words 
have  no  connexion.]     In  Marwar,  Salim  Singh  is  pronounced  Halim  Hingh. 


SLAVERY  207 

come  his  interests  and  reputation  ;  and  we  owe  to  the  greatest 
despot  a  State  ever  had  the  only  regular  charter  which  at  present 
exists  in  Rajasthan,  investing  a  corporate  body  with  the  election 
of  their  own  magistrates  and  the  making  of  their  own  laws,  sub- 
ject only  to  confirmation  ;  with  all  the  privileges  which  marked 
in  the  outset  the  foundation  of  the  free  cities  of  Europe,  and  that 
of  boroughs  in  England. 

It  is  true  that,  in  detached  documents,  we  see  the  spirit  of 
these  institutions  existing  in  Mewar,  and  it  is  as  much  a  matter 
of  speculation,  whether  this  wise  ruler  promulgated  this  novelty 
as  a  trap  for  good  opinions,  or  from  policy  and  foresight  alone  : 
aware,  when  all  around  him  was  improving,  from  the  shackles 
of  restraint  being  cast  aside,  that  his  retention  of  them  must  be 
hurtful  to  himself.  Liberality  in  this  exigence  answered  the 
previous  purpose  of  extortion.  His  system,  even  then,  was  good 
by  comparison  ;  all  around  was  rapine,  save  in  the  little  oasis 
kept  verdant  by  his  skill,  where  he  permitted  no  other  oppression 
than  his  own. 

This  charter  is  appended  ^  as  a  curiosity  in  legislation,  being 
given  thirty  years  ago.  Another,  for  the  agriculturists'  protec- 
tion, was  set  up  in  a.d.  1821.  No  human  being  prompted  either  ; 
though  the  latter  is  modelled  from  the  proceedings  in  Mewar, 
and  may  have  been  intended,  as  before  observed,  to  entrap 
applause. 

In  every  district  of  Haraoti  the  stone  was  raised  to  record  this 
ordinance  [179]. 

Gola — Das  (Slaves). — Famine  in  these  regions  is  the  great  cause 
of  loss  of  liberty  :  thousands  were  sold  in  the  last  great  famine. 
The  predatory  system  of  the  Pindaris  and  mountain  tribes  aided 
to  keep  it  up.  Here,  as  amongst  the  Franks,  freedom  is  derived 
through  the  mother.  The  offspring  of  a  goli  ^  or  dasi  must  be  a 
slave.  Hence  the  great  number  of  golas  in  Rajput  families, 
whose  illegitimate  offspring  are  still  adorned  in  Mewar,  as  our 
Saxon  slaves  were  of  old,  with  a  silver  ring  round  the  left  ankle, 
instead  of  the  neck.  They  are  well  treated,  and  are  often  amongst 
the  best  of  the  military  retainers ;  *  but  are  generally  esteemed  in 
proportion  to  the  quality  of  the  mother,  whether  Rajputni, 
Muslim,  or  of  the  degraded  tribes  :   they  hold  confidential  places 

^  See  Appendix,  No.  XI.  *  Female  slave. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  XIX. 


208  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

about  the  chiefs  of  whose  blood  they  are.  The  great -grand  father 
of  the  late  chief  of  Deogarh  used  to  appear  at  court  with  three 
hundred  galas  ^  on  horseback  in  his  train,  the  sons  of  Rajputs, 
each  with  a  gold  ring  round  his  ankle  :  men  whose  lives  were  his 
own.  This  chief  could  then  head  two  thousand  retainers,  his  own 
vassals.^ 

Slavery  due  to  Gambling. — Tacitus  ^  describes  the  baneful 
effects  of  gambling  amongst  the  German  tribes,  as  involving 
personal  liberty  ;  their  becoming  slaves,  and  being  subsequently 
sold  by  the  winner.  The  Rajput's  passion  for  gaming,  as  re- 
marked in  the  history  of  the  tribes,  is  strong  ;  and  we  can  revert 
to  periods  long  anterior  to  Tacitus,  and  perhaps  before  the  woods 
of  Germany  were  peopled  with  the  worshippers  of  Tuisto,  for  the 
antiquity  of  this  vice  amongst  the  Rajput  warriors,  presenting  a 
highly  interesting  picture  of  its  pernicious  effects.  Yudhishthira 
having  staked  and  lost  the  throne  of  India  to  Duryodhana,  to 
recover  it  hazarded  the  beautiful  and  virtuous  Draupadi.  By 
the  loaded  dice  of  his  foes  she  became  the  goli  of  the  Kaurava,  who, 
triumphing  in  his  pride,  would  have  unveiled  her  in  public  ;  but 
the  deity  presiding  over  female  modesty  preserved  her  from  the 
rude  gaze  of  the  assembled  host  ;  the  miraculous  scarf  lengthened 
as  he  withdrew  it,  till  tired,  he  desisted  at  the  instance  of  superior 
interposition.  Yudhishthira,  not  satisfied  with  this,  staked 
twelve  years  of  his  personal  liberty,  and  became  an  exile  from 
the  haunts  of  Kalindi,  a  wanderer  in  the  wilds  skirting  the  distant 
ocean  [180]. 

The  illegitimate  sons  of  the  Rana  are  called  das,  literally 
'  slave  '  :   they  have  no  rank,  though  they  are  liberally  provided 

^  The  reader  of  Dow's  translation  of  Ferishta  [i.  134]  may  recollect  that 
when  Kutbu-d-din  was  left  the  viceroy  of  the  conqueror  he  is  made  to  say  : 
"  He  gave  the  country  to  Gola  the  son  of  Pittu  Rai."  ["  He  delivered  over 
the  country  to  the  Gola,  or  natural  son,  of  Pithow  Ray  "  (Briggs'  trans, 
i.  128).]  Dow  mistakes  this  appellation  of  the  natural  brother  of  the  last 
Hindu  sovereign  for  a  proper  name.  He  is  mentioned  by  the  bard  Ghand  in 
his  exploits  of  Prithwiraja. 

^  I  have  often  received  the  most  confidential  messages,  from  chiefs  of  the 
highest  rank,  through  these  channels.  [There  are,  at  the  present  day, 
several  bastard  castes  originally  composed  of  the  illegitimate  children  of  men 
of  rank,  Rajputs,  Brahmans,  Mahajans,  and  others.  These  are  now  re- 
cruited from  the  descendants  of  such  persons,  and  from  recently  born  illegiti- 
mate children  (Census  Report,  Rajputana,  1911,  i.  2-i9f.).] 

^  Germania,  xxiv. 


SLAVES  209 

for.  Basai  signifies  '  acquired  slaveiy  '  ;  in  contradistinction  to 
gola,  '  an  hereditary  slave.'  The  gola  can  only  marry  a  goli  :  the 
lowest  Rajput  would  refuse  his  daughter  to  a  son  of  the  Rana  of 
this  kind.  The  basai  can  redeem  ^  his  liberty  :  the  gola  has  no 
wish  to  do  so,  because  he  could  not  improve  his  condition  nor 
overcome  his  natural  defects.  To  the  basai  nothing  dishonour- 
able attaches  :  the  class  retain  their  employments  and  caste,  and 
are  confined  to  no  occupation,  but  it  must  be  exercised  with  the 
chief's  sanction.  Individuals  reclaimed  from  captivity,  in  grati- 
tude have  given  up  their  liberty  :  communities,  when  this  or 
greater  evils  threatened,  have  done  the  same  for  protection  of 
their  lives,  religion,  and  honour.  Instances  exist  of  the  popula- 
tion of  towns  being  in  this  situation.  The  greater  part  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  estate  of  BijoUi  are  the  basai  of  its  chief,  who 
is  of  the  Pramara  tribe  :  they  are  his  subjects  ;  the  Rana,  the 
paramount  lord,  has  no  sort  of  authority  over  them.  Twelve 
generations  have  elapsed  since  his  ancestor  conducted  this  little 
colony  into  Mewar,  and  received  the  highest  honours  and  a  large 
estate  on  the  plateau  of  its  border,  in  a  most  interesting  country.^ 
The  only  badge  denoting  the  basai  is  a  small  tuft  of  hair  on  the 
crown  of  the  head.  The  term  interpreted  has  nothing  harsh  in 
it,  meaning  '  occupant,  dweller,  or  settler.'  The  numerous  towns 
in  India  called  Basai  have  this  origin  :  chiefs  abandoning  their 
ancient  haunts,  and  settling  *  with  all  their  retainers  and  chattels 
in  new  abodes.  From  this,  the  town  of  Basai  near  Tonk  (Ram* 
pura),  derived  its  name,  when  the  Solanki  prince  was  compelled 
to  abandon  his  patrimonial  lands  in  Gujarat  ;   his  subjects  of  all 

^  The  das  or  '  slave  '  may  hold  a  fief  in  Rajasthan,  but  he  never  can  rise 
above  the  condition  in  which  this  defect  of  birth  has  placed  him.  "  L'affran- 
chissement  consistait  a  sortir  de  la  classe  des  serfs,  par  Facquisition  d'un 
fief,  ou  seulement  d'un  fonds.  La  necessite  oil  s'etaient  trouves  les  seigneurs 
feodaux  de  vendre  une  partie  do  leurs  terres,  pour  faire  leurs  equipages  des 
croisades,  avait  rendu  ces  acquisitions  communes  ;  mais  le  fief  n'anobhssait 
qu'a  la  troisieme  generation."  Serfs  who  had  twice  or  thrice  been  cham- 
pions, or  saved  the  hves  of  their  masters,  were  also  liberated.  "  Un  eveque 
d'Auxerre  declara  qu'il  n'affranchirait  gratuitement,  qui  que  ce  soit,  s'il 
n'avait  re^u  quinze  blessurea  a  son  service "  (see  Article  '  Affranchisse- 
ment,'  Diet,  de  Vancien  Regime). 

^  I  could  but  indistinctly  learn  whether  this  migration,  and  the  species 
of  paternity  here  existing,  arose  from  rescuing  them  from  Tatar  invaders, 
or  from  the  calamity  of  famine. 

'  Basna,  '  to  settle.' 
VOL.  I  P 


210  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

classes  accompanjdng  him  voluntarily,  in  preference  to  sub- 
mitting to  foreign  rule.  Probably  the  foundation  of  BijoUi  was 
similar  ;  though  only  the  name  of  Basai  now  attaches  to  the 
inhabitants.  It  is  not  uncommon  [181],  in  the  overflowing  of 
gratitude,  to  be  told,  "  You  may  sell  me,  I  am  your  basai."  ^ 

Private  Feuds — Composition.— In  a  state  of  society  such  as 
these  sketches  delineate,  where  all  depends  on  the  personal 
character  of  the  sovereign, ,  the  field  for  the  indulgence  of  the 
passions,  and  especially  of  that  most  incident  to  the  uncontrollable 
habits  of  such  races — revenge — must  necessarily  be  great.  Private 
feuds  have  tended,  with  the  general  distraction  of  the  times,  to 
desolate  this  country.  Some  account  of  their  mode  of  prosecu- 
tion, and  the  incidents  thence  arising,  cannot  fail  to  throw  addi- 
tional light  on  the  manners  of  society,  which  during  the  last 
half-century  were  fast  receding  to  a  worse  than  semi-barbarous 
condition,  and,  aided  by  other  powerful  causes,  might  have 
ended  in  entire  annihilation.  The  period  was  rapidly  advancing, 
when  this  fair  region  of  Mewar,  the  garden  of  Rajasthan,  would 
have  reverted  to  its  primitive  sterility.  The  tiger  and  the  wild 
boar  had  already  become  inmates  of  the  capital,  and  the  bats 
flitted  undisturbed  in  the  palaces  of  her  princes.  The  ante- 
courts,  where  the  chieftains  and  their  followers  assembled  to 
grace  their  prince's  cavalcade,  were  overgrown  with  dank  shrubs 
and  grass,  through  which  a  mere  footpath  conducted  the  '  de- 
scendant of  a  hundred  kings  '  to  the  ruins  of  his  capital. 

In  these  principalities  the  influence  of  revenge  is  universal. 
Not  to  prosecute  a  feud  is  tantamount  to  an  acknowledgement  of 
self-degradation  ;  and,  as  in  all  countries  where  the  laws  are 
insufficient  to  control  individual  actions  or  redress  injuries,  they 
have  few  scruples  as  to  the  mode  of  its  gratification.     Hence 

^  I  had  the  happmess  to  be  the  means  of  releasing  from  captivity  some 
young  chiefs,  who  had  been  languishing  in  Mahratta  fetters  as  hostages  for 
the  payment  of  a  war  contribution.  One  of  them,  a  younger  brother  of  the 
Purawat  division,  had  a  mother  dying  to  see  him  ;  but  tliough  he  might 
have  taken  her  house  in  the  way,  a  strong  feehng  of  honour  and  gratitude 
made  him  forgo  this  anxious  visit :  "I  am  your  Rajput,  your  gola,  your 
basai."  He  was  soon  sent  off  to  his  mother.  Such  little  acts,  minghng 
with  pubhc  duty,  are  a  compensation  for  the  many  drawbacks  of  sohtude, 
gloom,  and  vexation,  attending  such  situations.  They  are  no  sinecures  or 
beds  of  roses— ease,  comfort,  and  health,  being  all  subordinate  considera- 
tions. 


PRIVATE  FEUDS  211 

feuds  are  entailed  with  the  estates  from  generation  to  generation. 
To  sheathe  the  sword  till  '  a  feud  is  balanced  '  (their  own  idio- 
matic expression),  would  be  a  blot  never  to  be  effaced  from  the 
escutcheon. 

In  the  Hindu  word  which  designates  a  feud  we  have  another 
of  those  striking  coincidences  in  terms  to  which  allusion  has 
already  been  made  :  vair  is  '  a  feud,'  vairi,  '  a  foe.'  The  Saxon 
term  for  the  composition  of  a  feud,  wergild,  is  familiar  to  every 
man.  In  some  of  these  States  the  initial  vowel  is  hard,  and  [182] 
pronounced  bair.  In  Rajasthan,  bair  is  more  common  than  vair, 
but  throughout  the  south-west  vair  only  is  used.  In  these  we 
have  the  original  Saxon  word  war,^  the  French  guer.  The  Rajput 
wergild  is  land  or  a  daughter  to  wife.  In  points  of  honour  the 
Rajput  is  centuries  in  advance  of  our  Saxon  forefathers,  who  had 
a  legislative  remedy  for  every  bodily  injury,  when  each  finger 
and  toe  had  its  price.^  This  might  do  very  well  when  the  injury 
was  committed  on  a  hind,  but  the  Rajput  must  have  blood  for 
blood.  The  monarch  must  be  powerful  who  can  compel  accept- 
ance of  the  compensation,  or  mund-kaii? 

The  prosecution  of  a  feud  is  only  to  be  stopped  by  a  process 
which  is  next  to  impracticable  ;  namely,  by  the  party  injured 
volunteering  forgiveness,  or  the  aggressor  throwing  himself  as  a 
suppliant  unawares  on  the  clemency  of  his  foe  within  his  own 
domains  :    a  most  trying  situation  for  each  to  be  placed  in,  yet 

^  Gilbert  on  Tenures,  art.  "  Warranty,"  p.  169.  [Wergild,  wer,  '  man,' 
gield,  gieldan ;  vair  is  Skt.  vtra,  '  hero ' ;  O.E.  wer,  O.H.G.  werran,  '  to 
embroil,'  Fr.  guerre.] 

^  "  The  great  toe  took  rank  as  it  should  be,  and  held  to  double  the  sum 
of  the  others,  for  which  ten  scyllinga  was  the  value  without  the  nail,  which 
was  thirty  scealta  to  boot"  (Turner's  Anglo-Saxons,  vol.  ii.  p.  133). 

^  Appendix,  No.  XVIII.  The  laws  of  composition  were  carried  to  a 
much  greater  extent  amongst  the  Hindu  nations  than  even  amongst  those 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who  might  have  found  in  Manu  all  that  was  ever 
written  on  the  subject,  from  the  kiUing  of  a  Brahman  by  design  to  the  accid- 
ental murder  of  a  dog.  The  Brahman  is  four  times  the  value  of  the  soldier, 
eight  of  the  merchant,  and  sixteen  times  of  the  Sudra.  "  If  a  Brahman  kill 
one  of  the  soldier  caste  (without  mahce),  a  bull  and  one  thousand  cows  is  the 
fine  of  expiation.  If  he  slays  a  merchant,  a  bull  and  one  hundred  cows  is  the 
fine.  If  a  Sudra  or  lowest  class,  ten  white  cows  and  a  bull  to  the  priest  is 
the  expiation  "  [Laivs,  xi.  127  ff.].  Manu  legislated  also  for  the  protection 
of  the  brute  creation,  and  if  the  priest  by  chance  kills  a  cat,  a  frog,  a  dog, 
a  lizard,  an  owl,  or  a  crow,  he  must  drink  nothing  but  milk  for  three  days 
and  nights,  or  walk  four  miles  in  the  night. 


212  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

not  unexampled,  and  revenge  in  such  a  case  would  entail  infamy. 
It  was  reserved  for  these  degenerate  days  to  produce  such  an 
instance. 

Amargarh-Shahpura  Feud. — The  Raja  of  Shahpura,  one  of 
the  most  powerful  of  the  chiefs  of  Mewar,  and  of  the  Rasa's 
blood,  had  a  feud  with  the  Ranawat  chief,  the  Bhumia  proprietor 
of  Amargarh.  Ummeda,^  the  chief  of  Shahpura,  held  two 
estates  :  one  was  the  grant  of  the  kings  of  Delhi,  the  other  of  his 
own  sovereign,  and  each  amounting  to  £10,000  ^  of  annual  rent, 
besides  the  duties  on  commerce.  His  estate  in  Mewar  was  in 
the  district  of  Mandalgarh,  where  also  lay  his  antagonist's  ;  their 
bounds  were  in  common  and  some  of  the  lands  were  intermixed  : 
this  led  to  disputes,  threats,  and  blows,  even  in  the  towns  of  their 
fathers,  between  their  husbandmen.  The  Bhumia  Dilel  was 
much  less  powerful  ;  he  was  lord  of  only  ten  villages,  not  yielding 
above  £1200  a  year  ;  but  they  were  compact  and  well  managed, 
and  he  was  [183]  popular  amongst  his  brethren,  whose  swords 
he  could  always  command.  His  castle  was  perched  on  a  rock, 
and  on  the  towers  facing  the  west  (the  direction  of  Shahpura) 
were  mounted  some  swivels  :  moreover  a  belt  of  forest  surrounded 
it,  through  which  only  two  or  three  roads  were  cut,  so  that  surprise 
was  impossible.  Dilel  had  therefore  little,  to  fear,  though  his 
antagonist  could  bring  two  thousand  of  his  own  followers  against 
him.  The  feud  burned  and  cooled  alternately  ;  but  the  Raja's 
exposed  villages  enabled  Dilel  to  revenge  himself  with  much 
inferior  means.  He  carried  off  the  cattle,  and  sometimes  the 
opulent  subjects,  of  his  foe,  to  his  donjon-keep  in  Amargarh  for 
ransom.  Meanwhile  the  husbandmen  of  both  suffered,  and 
agriculture  was  neglected,  till  half  the  villages  held  by  Ummeda 
in  Mandalgarh  became  deserted.  The  Raja  had  merited  this  by 
his  arrogance  and  attempts  to  humble  Dilel,  who  had  deserved 
more  of  the  sympathies  of  his  neighbours  than  his  rival,  whose 
tenants  were  tired  of  the  payments  of  barchi-dohai.^ 

^   Ummeda,  '  hope.' 

2  Together  £20,000,  eqvial  to  £100,000  of  England,  if  the  respective  value 
of  the  necessaries  of  hfe  be  considered. 

^  Barchi  is  '  a  lance.'  In  these  marauding  days,  when  there  was  a  riever 
in  every  village,  they  saUied  out  to  '  run  the  country,'  either  to  stop  the 
passenger  on  the  highway  or  the  inhabitant  of  the  city.  The  lance  at  his 
breast,  he  would  call  out  dohai,  an  invocation  of  aid.  During  harvest  time 
barchi-dohai  used  to  be  exacted. 


AMARGARH  SHAHPURA  FEUD  213 

Unmieda  was  eccentric,  if  the  term  be  not  too  weak  to  char- 
acterize acts  which,  in  more  civih'zed  regions,  would  have  sub- 
jected him  to  coercion.  He  has  taken  his  son  and  suspended  him 
by  the  cincture  to  the  pinnacle  of  his  little  chapel  at  Shahpura, 
and  then  called  on  the  mother  to  come  and  witness  the  sight. 
He  would  make  excursions  alone  on  horseback  or  on  a  swift 
camel,  and  be  missing  for  days.  In  one  of  these  moods  he  and 
his  foe  Dilel  encountered  face  to  face  within  the  bounds  of  Amar- 
garh.  Dilel  only  saw  a  chief  high  in  rank  at  his  mercy.  With 
courtesy  he  saluted  him,  invited  him  to  his  castle,  entertained 
him,  and  pledged  his  health  and  forgiveness  in  the  munawwar 
piyala  :  ^  they  made  merry,  and  in  the  cup  agreed  to  extinguish 
the  remembrance  of  the  feud. 

Both  had  been  summoned  to  the  court  of  the  sovereign.  The 
Raja  proposed  that  they  should  go  together,  and  invited  him  to 
go  by  Shahpura.  Dilel  accordingly  saddled  his  twenty  steeds, 
moved  out  his  equipage,  and  providing  himself  with  fitting 
raiment,  and  funds  to  maintain  him  at  the  capital,  accompanied 
the  Raja  to  receive  the  return  of  his  hospitality.  They  ate  from 
the  same  platter,^  drank  of  the  same  cup  and  enjoyed  the  song 
and  dance.  They  even  went  together  to  [184]  their  devotions, 
to  swear  before  their  deity  what  they  had  pledged  in  the  cup — 
oblivion  of  the  past.  But  scarcely  had  they  crossed  the  threshold 
of  the  chapel,  when  the  head  of  the  chief  of  Amargarh  was  rolling 
on  the  pavement,  and  the  deity  and  the  altar  were  sprinkled  with 
his  blood  !  To  this  atrocious  and  unheard-of  breach  of  the  laws 
of  hospitality,  the  Raja  added  the  baseness  of  the  pilferer,  seizing 
on  the  effects  of  his  now  lifeless  foe.  He  is  said,  also,  with  all  the 
barbarity  and  malignity  of  long-treasured  revenge,  to  have 
kicked  the  head  with  his  foot,  apostrophising  it  in  the  pitiful 
language  of  resentment.  The  son  of  Dilel,  armed  for  revenge, 
collected  all  his  adherents,  and  confusion  was  again  commencing 
its  reign.  To  prevent  this,  the  Rana  compelled  restitution  of 
the  horses  and  effects  ;  and  five  villages  from  the  estate  of  the 
Raja  were  the  mund-kati  (wergild)  or  compensation  to  the  son  of 
Dilel.  The  rest  of  the  estate  of  the  murderer  was  eventually 
sequestrated  by  the  crown. 

^  '  Cup  of  invitation.'     {^Munawivar,  Pers.  '  bright,  splendid.'] 
^  This  is  a  favourite  expression,  and  a  mode  of  indicating  great  friend- 
ship :   '  to  eat  of  the  same  platter  (thali),  and  drink  of  the  same  cup  (piyala).' 


214  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

The  feuds  of  Arja  and  Sheogarh  are  elsewhere  detailed,  and 
such  statements  could  be  multiplied.  Avowal  of  error  and 
demand  of  forgiveness,  with  the  offer  of  a  daughter  in  marriage, 
often  stop  the  progress  of  a  feud,  and  might  answer  better  than 
appearing  as  a  suppliant,  which  requires  great  delicacy  of  con- 
trivance.^ Border  disputes  ^  are  most  prolific  in  the  production 
of  feuds,  and  the  Rajput  lord-marchers  have  them  entailed  on 
them  as  regularly  as  their  estates.  The  border  chiefs  of  Jaisalmer 
and  Bikaner  carry  this  to  such  extent  that  it  often  involved  both 
states  in  hostilities.  The  vair  and  its  composition  in  Mandalgarh 
will,  however,  suffice  for  the  present  to  exemplify  these  things. 

Rajput  Pardhans  or  Premiers. — It  would  not  be  difficult, 
amongst  the  Majores  Dornus  Regiae  of  these  principalities,  to 
find  parallels  to  the  M aires  du  Palais  of  France.  Imbecilitj^  in 
the  chief,  whether  in  the  east  or  west,  must  have  the  same  conse- 
quences ;  and  more  than  one  State  in  India  will  present  us  with 
the  joint  appearance  of  the  phantom  and  the  substance  of  royalty. 
The  details  of  [185]  personal  attendance  at  court  will  be  found 
elsewhere.  When  not  absent  on  frontier  duties,  or  by  permission 
at  their  estates,  the  chiefs  resided  with  their  families  at  the 
capital ;  but  a  succession  of  attendants  was  always  secured,  to 
keep  up  its  splendour  and  perform  personal  service  at  the  palace. 
In  Mewar,  the  privileges  and  exemptions  of  the  higher  class  are 
such  as  to  exhibit  few  of  the  marks  of  vassalage  observable  at 
other  courts.  Here  it  is  only  on  occasion  of  particular  festivals 
and  solemnities  that  they  ever  join  the  prince's  cavalcade,  or 
attend  at  court.  If  full  attendance  is  required,  on  the  reception 
of  ambassadors,  or  in  discussing  matters  of  general  policy,  when 

^  The  Bundi  feud  with  the  Rana  is  still  unappeased,  since  the  predecessor 
of  the  former  slew  the  Rana's  father.  It  was  an  indefensible  act,  and  the 
Bundi  prince  was  most  desirous  to  terminate  it.  He  had  no  daughter  to 
offer,  and  hinted  a  desire  to  accompany  me  incog,  and  thus  gain  admission 
to  the  presence  of  the  Rana.  The  benevolence  and  generosity  of  this  prince 
would  have  insured  him  success  ;  but  it  was  a  dehcate  matter,  and  I  feared 
some  exposure  from  any  arrogant  hot-headed  Rajput  ere  the  scene  could 
have  been  got  up.  The  Raja  Bishan  Singh  of  Bundi  is  since  dead  [in  1828]  ; 
a  brave  and  frank  Rajput ;  he  has  left  few  worthier  beliind.  His  son  [Ram 
Siiigli,  1821-89],  yet  a  minor,  promises  well.  The  protective  alliance,  which 
is  to  turn  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  will  prevent  their  becoming  foes  ; 
but  they  will  remain  sulky  border-neighbours,  to  the  fostering  of  disputes 
and  the  disquiet  of  the  merchant  and  cultivator. 

^  Sim — Kankar. 


PREMIERS  215 

they  have  a  right  to  hear  and  advise  as  the  hereditary  council 
(panchayai)  of  the  State,  they  are  summoned  by  an  officer,  with 
the  prince'' s  juhar,^  and  his  request.  On  grand  festivals  the  great 
nakkaras,  or  kettle-drums,  beat  at  three  stated  times  ;  the  third 
is  the  signal  for  the  chief  to  quit  his  abode  and  mount  his  steed. 
Amidst  all  these  privileges,  when  it  were  almost  difficult  to 
distinguish  between  the  prince  and  his  great  chiefs,  there  are 
occasions  well  understood  by  both,  which  render  the  superiority 
of  the  former  apparent  :  one  occurs  in  the  formalities  observed 
on  a  lapse  ;  another,  when  at  court  in  personal  service,  the  chief 
once  a  week  mounts  guard  at  the  palace  with  his  clan.  On  these 
occasions  the  vast  distance  between  them  is  seen.  When  the 
chief  arrives  in  the  grand  court  of  the  palace  with  his  retainers,  he 
halts  under  the  balcony  till  intimation  is  given  to  the  prince,  who 
from  thence  receives  his  obeisance  and  duty.  This  over,  _he 
retires  to  the  great  darikhana,  or  hall  of  audience,  appropriated 
for  these  ceremonies,  where  carpets  are  spread  for  him  and  his 
retainers.  At  meals  the  prince  sends  his  compliments,  requesting 
the  chief's  attendance  at  the  rasora  ^  or  '  feasting  hall,'  where  with 
other  favoured  chiefs  he  partakes  of  dinner  with  the  prince.  He 
sleeps  in  the  hall  of  audience,  and  next  morning  with  the  same 
formalities  takes  his  leave.  Again,  in  the  summons  to  the 
presence  from  their  estates,  instant  obedience  is  requisite.  But 
in  this,  attention  to  their  rank  is  studiously  shown  by  ruqa, 
written  by  the  private  secretary,  with  the  sign-manual  of  the 
prince  attached,  and  sealed  with  the  private  finger-ring.  For 
the  inferior  grades,  the  usual  seal  of  state  entrusted  to  the  minister 
is  used. 

But  these  are  general  duties.  In  all  these  States  some  great 
court  favourite  [186],  from  his  talents,  character,  or  intrigue, 
holds  the  office  of  premier.  His  duties  are  proportioned  to  his 
wishes,  or  the  extent  of  his  talents  and  aml)ition  ;  but  he  does  not 
interfere  with  the  civil  administration,  which  has  its  proper 
minister.  They,  however,  act  together.  The  Rajput  premier 
is  the  military  minister,  with  the  political  government  of  the 

'  A  salutation,  only  sent  by  a  superior  to  an  inferior. 

-  The  Idtchen  is  large  enough  for  a  fortress,  and  contains  large  eating 
halls.  Food  for  seven  hundred  of  the  prince's  court  is  daily  dressed.  This 
is  not  for  any  of  the  personal  servants  of  the  prince,  or  female  establish- 
ments ;    all  these  are  separate. 


216  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

fiefs  ;  the  civil  minister  is  never  of  this  caste.  Local  customs 
have  given  various  appellations  to  this  officer.  At  Udaipur  he  is 
called  hhanjgarh  ;  at  Jodhpur,  pardhan  ;  at  Jaipur  (where  they 
have  engrafted  the  term  used  at  the  court  of  Delhi)  miisahib  ;  at 
Kotah,  kiladar,  and  diwan  or  regent.  He  becomes  a  most  im- 
portant personage,  as  dispenser  of  the  favours  of  the  sovereign. 
Through  him  chiefly  all  requests  are  preferred,  this  being  the 
surest  channel  to  success.  His  influence,  necessarily,  gives  him 
unbounded  authority  over  the  military  classes,  with  unlimited 
power  over  the  inferior  officers  of  the  State.  With  a  powerful 
body  of  retainers  always  at  his  command,  it  is  surprising  we  have 
not  more  frequently  our  '  mayors  of  Burgundy  and  Dagoberts,'  ^ 
our  '  Martels  and  Pei^ins,'  in  Rajasthan. 

We  have  our  hereditary  Rajput  premiers  in  several  of  these 
States  :  but  in  all  the  laws  of  succession  are  so  regulated  that 
they  could  not  usurp  the  throne  of  their  prince,  though  they 
might  his  functions. 
— "  When  the  treaty  was  formed  between  Mewar  and  the  British 
Government,  the  ambassadors  wished  to  introduce  an  article  of 
guarantee  of  the  office  of  pardhan  to  the  family  of  the  chief  noble 
of  the  country,  the  Rawat  of  Salumbar.  The  fact  was,  as  stated, 
that  the  dignity  was  hereditary  in  this  family  ;  but  though  the 
acquisition  was  the  result  of  an  act  of  virtue,  it  had  tended  much 
towards  the  ruin  of  the  country,  and  to  the  same  cause  are  to  be 
traced  all  its  rebellions. 

The  ambassador  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the  same  clan,  being 
the  grand  uncle  of  the  hereditary  pardhan.  He  had  taken  a  most 
active  share  in  the  political  events  of  the  last  thirty  years,  and  had 
often  controlled  the  councils  of  his  prince  during  this  period, 

^  Dagobert  commended  his  wife  and  son  Clovis  to  the  trust  of  Ega, 
with  whom  she  jointly  held  the  care  of  the  palace.  On  his  death,  with  the 
aid  of  more  powerful  lords,  she  chose  another  mayor.  He  confirmed  their 
grants  for  hfe.  They  made  his  situation  hereditary  ;  but  which  could  only 
have  held  good  from  the  cfowd  of  imbeciles  who  succeeded  Clovis,  until 
the  descendant  of  this  mayor  thrust  out  his  children  and  seized  the  crown. 
This  change  is  a  natural  consequence  of  unfitness  ;  and  if  we  go  back  to  the 
genealogies  (called  sacred)  of  the  Hindus,  we  see  there  a  succession  of 
dynasties  forced  from  their  thrones  by  their  ministers.  Seven  examples 
are  given  in  the  various  dynasties  of  the  race  of  Chandra.  (See  Genealogical 
Tables,  No.  II.)  [The  above  is  in  some  ways  inaccurate,  but  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  correct  it,  as  it  is  not  connected  with  the  question  of  premiers  in 
Rajputana  :    see  EB,  xvii.  938.] 


PREMIERS  217 

and  actualij'^  held  the  post  of  premier  himself  when  stipulating  [187] 
for  his  minor  relative.  With  the  ascendancy  he  exercised  over  the 
prince,  it  may  be  inferred  that  he  had  no  intention  of  renouncing 
it  during  his  lifetime  ;  and  as  he  was  educating  his  adopted  heir 
to  all  his  notions  of  authority,  and  initiating  him  in  the  intrigues  of 
office,  the  guaranteed  dignity  in  the  head  of  his  family  would  have 
become  a  nonentity,^  and  the  Ranas  would  have  been  governed 
by  the  deputies  of  their  mayors.  From  both  those  evils  the  times 
have  relieved  the  prince.  The  crimes  of  Ajit  had  made  his  dis- 
missal from  office  a  point  of  justice,  but  imbecility  and  folly  will 
never  be  without  '  mayors.' 

When  a  Rana  of  Udaijiur  leaves  the  capital,  the  Salumbar 
chief  is  invested  with  the  government  of  the  city  and  charge  of 
the  palace  during  his  absence.  By  his  hands  the  sovereign  is 
girt  with  the  sword,  and  from  him  he  receives  the  mark  of  inaugu- 
ration on  his  accession  to  the  throne.  He  leads,  by  right,  the 
van  in  battle  ;  and  in  case  of  the  siege  of  the  capital,  his  post  is 
the  surajpol,"  and  the  fortress  which  crowns  it,  in  which  this 
family  had  a  handsome  palace,  which  is  now  going  fast  to  decay. 

It  was  the  predecessor  of  the  present  chief  of  Salumbar  who 
set  up  a  pretender  and  the  standard  of  rebellion  ;  but  when 
foreign  aid  was  brought  in,  he  returned  to  his  allegiance  and  the 
defence  of  the  capital.  Similar  sentiments  have  often  been 
awakened  in  patriotic  breasts,  when  roused  by  the  interference 
of  foreigners  in  their  internal  disputes.  The  evil  entailed  on  the 
State  by  these  hereditary  offices  will  appear  in  its  annals. 

1  So  many  sudden  deaths  had  occurred  in  this  family,  that  the  branch  in 
question  (Ajit  Singh's)  were  strongly  suspected  of  '  heaping  these  mortal 
murders  on  their  crown,'  to  push  their  elders  from  their  seats.  The  father 
of  Padma,  the  present  chief,  is  said  to  have  been  taken  off  by  poison  ;  and 
Pahar  Singh,  one  generation  anterior,  returning  grievously  wounded  from 
the  battle  of  Ujjain,  in  which  the  southrons  first  swept  Mewar,  was  not  per- 
mitted to  recover.  The  mother  of  the  present  young  chief  of  the  Jhala 
tribe  of  the  house  of  Gogunda,  in  the  west,  was  afraid  to  trust  him  from  her 
sight.  She  is  a  woman  of  great  strength  of  mind  and  excellent  character, 
but  too  indulgent  to  an  only  son.  He  is  a  fine  bold  youth,  and,  though 
impatient  of  control,  may  be  managed.  On  horseback  with  his  lance,  in 
chase  of  the  wild  boar,  a  more  resolute  cavaher  could  not  be  seen.  His 
mother,  when  he  left  the  estate  alone  for  court,  which  he  seldom  did  without 
her  accompanying  him,  never  failed  to  send  me  a  long  letter,  beseeching  me 
to  guard  the  welfare  of  her  son.  My  house  was  lu's  great  resort :  he  delighted 
to  pull  over  my  books,  or  go  fishing  or  riding  with  me. 

^  Surya,  '  sun  ' ;    and  pol,  '  gate.'     Poliya,  '  a  porter.' 


218  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

In  Marwar  the  dignity  is  hereditary  in  the  house  of  Awa  ;  but 
the  last  brave  chief  who  held  it  became  the  victim  of  a  revenge- 
ful and  capricious  sovereign/  [188]  who  was  jealous  of  his  ex- 
ploits ;  and  dying,  he  bequeathed  a  curse  to  his  posterity  who 
should  again  accept  the  office.  It  was  accordingly  transferred 
to  the  next  in  dignity,  the  house  of  Asop.  The  present  chief, 
wisely  distrusting  the  prince  whose  reign  has  been  a  series  of 
turmoils,  has  kept  aloof  from  court.  When  the  office  was  jointly 
held  by  the  chiefs  of  Nimaj  and  Pokaran,  the  tragic  end  of  the 
former  afforded  a  fine  specimen  of  the  prowess  and  heroism  of 
the  Rathor  Rajput.  In  truth,  these  pardhans  of  Marwar  have 
always  been  mill-stones  round  the  necks  of  their  princes  ;  an  evil 
interwoven  in  their  system  when  the  partition  of  estates  took 
place  amidst  the  sons  of  Jodha  in  the  infancy  of  this  State.  It 
was,  no  doubt,  then  deemed  politic  to  unite  to  the  interests  of  the 
crown  so  powerful  a  branch,  which  when  combined  could  always 
control  the  rest  ;    but  this  gave  too  much  equality. 

The  Chief  of  Pokaran. — Deo  Singh,  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
Pokaran  chief  alluded  to,  used  to  sleep  in  the  great  hall  of  the 
palace  with  five  hundred  of  his  clan  around  him.  "  The  throne 
of  Marwar  is  in  the  sheath  of  my  dagger,"  was  the  repeated  boast 
of  this  arrogant  chieftain.  It  may  be  anticipated  that  either  he 
or  his  sovereign  would  die  a  violent  death.  The  lord  of  Pokaran 
was  entrapped,  and  instant  death  commanded  ;  yet  with  the 
sword  suspended  over  his  head,  his  undaunted  spirit  was  the 
same  as  when  seated  in  the  hall,  and  surrounded  by  his  vassals. 
"  Where,  traitor,  is  now  the  sheath  that  holds  the  fortiuies  of 
Marwar  ?  "  said  the  prince.  The  taunt  recoiled  with  bitterness 
when  he  loftily  replied,  "  With  my  son  at  Pokaran  I  have  left  it." 
No  tinae  was  given  for  further  insult  ;  his  head  rolled  at  the  steps 
of  the  palace  ;  but  the  dagger  of  Pokaran  still  haunts  the  imagina- 
tions of  these  princes,  and  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  get 
possessed  of  their  stronghold  on  the  edge  of  the  desert.^  The 
narrow  escape  of  the  present  chief  will  be  related  hereafter,  with 
the  sacrifice  of  his  friend  and  coadjutor,  the  chief  of  Nimaj. 

^  "  The  cur  can  bite,"  the  reply  of  this  chief,  either  personally,  or  to  the 
jjerson  who  reported  that  his  sovereign  so  designated  him,  was  never 
forgiven. 

^  His  son,  Sabal  Singh,  followed  in  his  footsteps,  till  an  accidental  cannon- 
shot  reheved  the  terrors  of  the  prince. 


PREMIERS  219 

Premiers  in  Kotah  and  Jaisalmer. — In  Kotah  and  Jaisalmer 
the  power  of  the  ministers  is  supreme.  We  might  describe  their 
situation  in  the  words  of  Montesquieu.  "  The  Pepins  kept  their 
princes  in  a  state  of  imprisonment  in  the  palace,  showing  them 
once  a  year  to  the  people.  On  this  occasion  they  made  such 
ordinances  as  were  directed  [189]  by  the  mayor  ;  they  also 
answered  ambassadors,  but  the  mayor  framed  the  answer."  ^ 

Like  those  of  the  Merovingian  race,  these  puppets  of  royalty 
in  the  east  are  brought  forth  to  the  Champ  de  Mars  once  a  year, 
at  the  grand  military  festival,  the  Dasahra.  On  this  day,  presents 
provided  by  the  minister  are  distributed  by  the  prince.  Allow- 
ances for  every  branch  of  expenditure  ?  re  fixed,  nor  has  the  prince 
the  power  to  exceed  them.  But  at  Kotah  there  is  nothing  parsi- 
monious, though  nothing  superfluous.  On  the  festival  of  the  birtn 
of  Krishna,  and  other  similar  feasts,  the  prince  likewise  appears 
abroad,  attended  by  all  the  insignia  of  royalty.  Elephants  with 
standards  precede  ;  lines  of  infantry  and  guns  are  drawn  up  ; 
while  a  numerous  cavalcade  surrounds  his  person.  The  son  of  the 
minister  sometimes  condescends  to  accompany  his  prince  on 
horseback  ;  nor  is  there  anything  wanting  to  magnificence,  but 
the  power  to  control  or  alter  any  part  of  it.  This  failing,  how 
humiliating  to  a  proud  mind,  acquainted  with  the  history  of  his 
ancestors  and  unbued  with  a  portion  of  their  spirit,  to  be  thus 
muzzled,  enchained,  and  rendered  a  mere  pageant  of  state  !  This 
chain  would  have  been  snapped,  but  that  each  link  has  become 
adamantine  from  the  ties  this  ruler  has  formed  with  the  British 
Government.  He  has  well  merited  our  protection  ;  though  we 
never  contemplated  to  what  extent  the  maintenance  of  these  ties 
would  involve  our  own  character.  But  this  subject  is  connected 
with  the  history  of  an  individual  who  yields  to  none  of  the  many 
extraordinary  men  whom  India  has  produced,  and  who  required 
but  a  larger  theatre  to  have  drawn  the  attention  of  the  world. 
His  character  will  be  further  elucidated  in  the  Annals  of 
Haravati  [190]. 

^  U Esprit  des  Loix,  chap.  vi.  livre  31. 


220  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 


CHAPTER    5 

Adoption. — The  hereditary  principle,  which  perpetuates  in  these 
States  their  virtues  and  their  vices,  is  also  the  grand  preservative 
of  their  political  existence  and  national  manners  :  it  is  an  imperish- 
able principle,  which  resists  time  and  innovation  :  it  is  this  which 
made  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
Rajputs,  unalterable.  A  chief  of  Mewar,  like  his  sovereign, 
never  dies  :  he  disappears  to  be  regenerated.  '  Le  roi  est  mart, 
mve  le  roi  .' '  is  a  phrase,  the  precise  virtue  of  which  is  there  well 
understood.  Neither  the  crown  nor  the  greater  fiefs  are  ever 
without  heirs.  Adoption  is  the  preservative  of  honours  and  titles  ; 
the  great  fiefs  of  Rajasthan  can  never  become  extinct.^  But, 
however  valuable  this  privilege,  which  the  law  of  custom  has  made 
a  right,  it  is  often  carried  to  the  most  hurtful  and  foolish  extent. 
They  have  allowed  the  limit  which  defined  it  to  be  effaced,  and 
each  family,  of  course,  maintains  a  custom,  so  soothing  to  vanity, 
as  the  prospect  of  having  their  names  revived  in  their  descendants. 
This  has  resulted  from  the  weakness  of  the  prince  and  the  misery 
of  the  times.  Lands  were  bestowed  liberally  which  yielded 
nothing  to  their  master,  who,  in  securing  a  nominal  obedience 
and  servitude,  had  as  much  as  the  times  made  them  worth  when 
given  ;  but  with  returning  prosperity  and  old  customs,  these 
great  errors  have  become  too  visible.  Adoptions  are  often  made 
during  the  life  of  the  incumbent  when  without  prospect  of  issue. 
The  chief  and  his  wife  first  agitate  the  subject  in  private  ;  it  is 
then  confided  to  the  little  council  of  the  fief,  and  when  propin- 
quity and  merit  unite,  they  at  once  petition  the  prince  to  confirm 
their  wishes,  which  are  generally  acceded  to.  So  many  interests 
are  to  be  consulted  on  this  occasion,  that  the  blind  partiality  of 
the  chief  to  any  particular  object  is  always  counterpoised  by  the 
elders  of  the  clan,  who  jnust  have  a  pride  in  seeing  a  proper  Tha- 
kur  ^  at  their  head,  and  who  prefer  the  nearest  of  kin,  to  prevent 
the  disputes  which  would  be  attendant  on  neglect  in  this 
point  [191]. 

^  [The  abandonment  of  the  policy  of  escheat  or  lapse,  and  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  right  of  adoption  were  announced  by  Lord  Canning  in  1869.] 
^  As  in  Deogarh. 


THE  CASE  OF  DEOGARH  221 

On  sudden  lapses,  the  wife  is  allowed  the  privilege,  in  eon- 
junction  with  those  interested  in  the  fief,  of  nomination,  though 
the  case  is  seldom  left  unprovided  for  :  there  is  always  a  pre- 
sumptive heir  to  the  smallest  sub-infeudation  of  these  estates. 
The  wife  of  the  deceased  is  the  guardian  of  the  minority  of  the 
adopted. 

The  Case  of  Deogarh. — The  chief  of  Deogarh,  one  of  the  sixteen 
Omras  ^  of  Mewar,  died  without  issue.  On  his  death-bed  he 
recommended  to  his  wife  and  chiefs  Nahar  Singh  for  their  adop- 
tion. This  was  the  son  of  the  independent  chieftain  of  Sangram- 
garh,  already  mentioned.  There  were  nearer  kin,  some  of  the 
seventh  and  eighth  degrees,  and  young  Nahar  was  the  eleventh. 
It  was  never  contemplated  that  the  three  last  gigantic  ^  chieftains 
of  Deogarh  would  die  without  issue,  or  the  branches,  now  claim- 
ants from  propinquity,  would  have  been  educated  to  suit  the 
dignity  ;  but  being  brought  up  remote  from  court,  they  had  been 
compelled  to  seek  employment  where  obtainable,  or  to  live  on 
the  few  acres  to  which  their  distant  claim  of  birth  restricted 
them.  Two  of  these,  who  had  but  the  latter  resource  to  fly  to, 
had  become  mere  boors  ;  and  of  two  who  had  sought  service 
abroad  by  arms,  one  was  a  cavalier  in  the  retinue  of  the  prince, 
and  the  other  a  hanger-on  about  court  :  both  dissipated  and 
unfitted,  as  the  frerage  asserted,  '  to  be  the  chieftains  of  two 
thousand  Rajputs,  the  sons  of  one  father.'  ^  Much  interest  and 
intrigue  were  carried  on  for  one  of  these,  and  he  was  supported 
by  the  young  prince  and  a  faction.  Some  of  the  senior  Pattawats 
of  Deogarh  are  men  of  the  highest  character,  and  often  lamented 
the  sombre  qualities  of  their  chief,  which  prevented  the  clan 
having  that  interest  in  the  State  to  which  its  extent  and  rank 
entitled  it.  While  these  intrigues  were  in  their  infancy,  they 
adopted  a  decided  measure  ;  they  brought  home  young  Nahar 
from  his  father's  residence,  and  '  bound  round  his  head  the 
turban  of  the  deceased.'  In  his  name  the  death  of  the  late  chief 
was  announced.     It  was  added,  that  he  hoped  to  see  his  friends 

^  [Umara,  plural  of  Anilr,  '  a  chief.'] 

^  Gokuldas,  the  last  chief,  was  one  of  the  finest  men  I  ever  beheld  in 
feature  and  person.  He  was  about  six  feet  six,  perfectly  erect,  and  a 
Hercules  in  bulk.  His  father  at  twenty  was  much  larger,  and  must  have 
been  nearly  seven  feet  high.  It  is  surprising  how  few  of  the  chiefs  of  this 
family  died  a  natural  death.     It  has  produced  some  noble  Rajputs. 

'  Ek  bap  ka  beta. 


222  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

after  the  stated  days  of  maiam  or  mourning  ;  and  he  performed 
all  the  duties  of  the  son  of  Deogarh,  and  lighted  the  funeral  pyre. 

When  these  proceedings  were  reported,  the  Rana  was  highly 
and  justly  incensed.  The  late  chief  had  been  one  of  the  rebels 
of  S.  1848  ;  ^  and  though  pardon  had  been  [192]  granted,  yet  this 
revived  all  the  recollection  of  the  past,  and  he  felt  inclined  to 
extinguish  the  name  of  Sangawat.^ 

In  addition  to  the  common  sequestration,  he  sent  an  especial 
one  with  commands  to  collect  the  produce  of  the  harvest  then 
reaping,  charging  the  sub-vassals  with  the  design  of  overturning 
his  lawful  authority.  They  replied  very  submissively,  and  art- 
fully asserted  that  they  had  only  given  a  son  to  Gokuldas,  not  an 
heir  to  Deogarh  ;  that  the  sovereign  alone  could  do  this,  and  that 
they  trusted  to  his  nominating  one  who  would  be  an  efificient 
leader  of  so  many  Rajputs  in  the  service  of  the  Rana.  They 
urged  the  pretensions  of  young  Nahar,  at  the  same  time  leaving 
the  decision  to  the  sovereign.  Their  judicious  reply  was  well 
supported  by  their  ambassador  at  court,  who  was  the  bard  of 
Deogarh,  and  had  recently  become,  though  ex  officio,  physician 
to  the  prince.^  The  point  was  finallj'  adjusted,  and  Nahar  was 
brought  to  court,  and  invested  with  the  sword  by  the  hand  of 
the  sovereign,  and  he  is  now  lord  of  Deogarh  Madri,  one  of  the 
richest  and  most  powerful  fiefs  *  of  Mewar  Madri  was  the 
ancient  name  of  the  estate  ;  and  Sangramgarh,  of  which  Nahar 
was  the  heir,  was  severed  from  it,  but  by  some  means  had  reverted 
to  the  crown,  of  which  it  now  holds.  The  adoption  of  Nahar  by 
Gokuldas  leaves  the  paternal  estate  without  an  immediate  heir  ; 
and  his  actual  father  being  mad,  if  more  distant  claims  are  not 
admitted,  it  is  probable  that  Sangramgarh  v*^ill  eventually  revert 
to  the  fisc. 

1  A.D.  1792.  2  That  of  the  clan  of  Deogarh. 

'  ApoUo  [Krishna]  is  the  patron  both  of  physicians  and  poets  ;  and 
though  my  friend  Amra  does  not  disgrace  him  in  either  calling,  it  was  his 
wit,  rather  than  his  medical  degree,  that  maintained  him  at  court.  He  said 
it  was  not  fitting  that  the  sovereign  of  the  world  should  be  served  by  clowns 
or  opium-eaters  ;  and  that  young  Nahar,  when  educated  at  court  under  the 
Rana's  example,  would  do  credit  to  the  country  :  and  what  had  full  as 
much  weight  as  any  of  the  bard's  arguments  was,  that  the  fine  of  relief  on 
the  Talwar  bandhai  (or  girding  on  of  the  sword)  of  a  lac  of  rupees,  should 
be  immediately  forthcoming. 

*  Patta.     [About  30  miles  south  of  Udaipur  city.] 


REFLECTIONS  ON  FUTURE  POLICY  223 

Reflections.-^The  sj^stem  of  feuds  must  have  attained  con- 
siderable maturity  amongst  the  Rajputs,  to  have  left  such  traces, 
notwithstanding  the  desolatioJi  that  has  swe})t  the  land  :  but 
without  circumspection  these  few  remaining  customs  will  become 
a  dead  letter.  Unless  we  abstain  from  all  internal  interference, 
we  must  destroy  the  links  which  connect  the  prince  and  his 
vassals  ;  and,  in  lieu  of  a  system  decidedly  imperfect,  we  should 
leave  them  none  at  all,  or  at  least  not  a  system  of  feuds,  the  only 
one  they  can  comprehend.  Our  friendship  has  rescued  them 
from  exterior  foes,  and  time  will  restore  the  rest.  With  the 
dignity  and  [193]  establishments  of  their  chiefs,  ancient  usages 
will  revive  ;  and  nazarana  (relief),  kharg  bandhai  (investiture), 
dasaundh  (aids  or  benevolence,  literally  '  the  tenth  '),  and  other 
incidents,  will  cease  to  be  mere  ceremonies.  The  desire  of  every 
liberal  mind,  as  well  as  the  professed  wish  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, is  to  aid  in  their  renovation,  and  this  will  be  best  effected 
by  not  meddling  with  what  we  but  imperfectly  understand.^ 

We  have  nothing  to  apprehend  from  the  Rajput  States  if  raised 
to  their  ancient  prosperity.  The  closest  attention  to  their  history 
proves  beyond  contradiction  that  they  were  never  capable  of 
imiting,  even  for  their  own  preservation  :  a  breath,  a  scurrilous 
stanza  of  a  bard,  has  severed  their  closest  confederacies.  No 
national  head  exists  amongst  them  as  amongst  the  Mahrattas  ; 
and  each  chief  being  master  of  his  own  house  and  followers,  they 
are  individually  too  weak  to  cause  us  any  alarm. 

No  feudal  government  can  be  dangerous  as  a  neighbour  ;  for 
defence  it  has  in  all  countries  been  found  defective  ;  and  for 
aggression,  totally  inefficient.  Let  there  exist  between  us  the 
most  perfect  understanding  and  identity  of  mterests  ;  the  foun- 
dation-step to  which  is  to  lessen  or  remit  the  galling,  and  to  us 

^  Such  interference,  when  inconsistent  with  past  usage  and  the  genius  of 
the  people,  will  defeat  the  very  best  intentions.  On  the  grounds  of  poHcy 
and  justice,  it  is  ahke  incumbent  on  the  British  Government  to  secure  the 
maintenance  of  their  present  form  of  government,  and  not  to  repair,  but  to 
advise  the  repairs  of  the  fabric,  and  to  let  their  own  artists  alone  be  con- 
sulted. To  employ  ours  would  be  like  adding  a  Corinthian  capital  to  a 
column  of  EUora,  or  replacing  the  mutilated  statue  of  Baldeva  with  a  limb 
from  the  Hercules  Farnese.  To  have  a  chain  of  prosperous  independent 
States  on  our  ozaly  exposed  frontier,  the  north-west,  attached  to  us  from 
benefits,  and  the  moral  conviction  that  we  do  not  seek  their  overthrow, 
must  be  a  desirable  pohcy. 


224  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

contemptible  tribute,  now  exacted,  enfranchise  "^them  from  our 
espionage  and  agency,  and  either  unlock  them  altogether  from 
our  dangerous  embrace,  or  let  the  ties  between  us  be  such  only 
as  would  ensure  grand  results  :  such  as  general  commercial 
freedom  and  protection,  with  treaties  of  friendly  alliance.  Then, 
if  a  Tatar  or  a  Russian  invasion  threatened  our  eastern  empire, 
fifty  thousand  Rajputs  would  be  no  despicable  allies.^ 

Rajput  Loyalty  and  Patriotism. — Let  us  call  to  mind  what  they 
did  when  they  fought  for  Aurangzeb  :  they  are  still  unchanged, 
if  we  give  them  the  proper  stimulus.  Gratitude,  honour,  and 
fidelity,  are  terms  which  at  one  time  were  the  foundation  of  all 
the  virtues  of  a  Rajput.  Of  the  theory  of  these  sentiments  he 
is  still  enamoured  ;  but,  unfortunately,  for  his  happiness,  the 
times  have  left  him  but  little  scope  for  the  practice  [194]  of  them. 
Ask  a  Rajput  which  is  the  greatest  of  crimes  ?  he  will  reply, 
'  gunchhor,^  '  forgetfulness  of  favours.'.  This  is  his  most  powerful 
term  for  ingratitude.  Gratitude  with  him  embraces  every 
obligation  of  life,  and  is  inseparable  from  swamidharma,  '  fidelity 
to  his  lord.'  He  who  is  wanting  in  these  is  not  deemed  fit  to  live, 
and  is  doomed  to  eternal  pains  in  Pluto's  ^  realm  hereafter.^ 

"It  was  a  powerful  feeling,"  says  an  historian*  who  always 
identifies  his  own  emotions  with  his  subject,  "  which  could  make 
the  bravest  of  men  put  up  with  slights  and  ill-treatment  at  the 
hand  of  their  sovereign,  or  call  forth  all  the  energies  of  discon- 
tented exertion  for  one  whom  they  never  saw,  and  in  whose  char- 
acter there  was  nothing  to  esteem.  Loyalty  has  scarcely  less 
tendency  to  refine  and  elevate  the  heart  than  patriotism  itself." 
That  these  sentiments  were  combined,  the  past  history  of  the 
Rajputs  will  show  ;  ^  and  to  the  strength  of  these  ties  do  they 

^  [The  author's  prediction  has  been  realized  by  recent  events.] 
^   Yamaloka. 

*  The  gunchhor  (ungrateful)  and  satchhor  (violator  of  his  faith)  are  con- 
signed, by  the  authority  of  the  bard,  to  sixty-thousand  years'  residence  in 
hell.  Europeans,  in  all  the  pride  of  mastery,  accuse  the  natives  of  want  of 
gratitude,  and  say  their  language  has  no  word  for  it.  They  can  only  know 
the  namak-haram  ['  he  that  is  false  to  his  salt ']  of  the  Ganges.  Gunchhor 
is  a  compound  of  powerful  import,  as  ingratitude  and  infidehty  are  the 
highest  crimes.  It  means,  literally,  "  abandoner  (from  chhorna,  '  to  quit ') 
of  virtue  (gun)." 

*  Hallam,  vol.  i.  p.  323. 

*  Of  the  effects  of  loyalty  and  patriotism  combined,  we  have  splendid 
examples  in  Hindu  history  and  tradition.     A  more  striking  instance  could 


RAJPUT  LOYALTY  AND  PATRIOTISM  225 

owe  their  political  existence,  which  has  outlived  ages  of  strife. 
But  for  these,  they  would  have  been  converts  and  vassals  to  the 
Tatars,  who  would  still  have  been  enthroned  in  Delhi.  Neglect, 
oppression,  and  religious  interference,  sunk  one  of  the  greatest 
monarchies  of  the  world  ;  ^  made  Sivaji  a  hero,  and  converted  the 
peaceful  husbandmen  of  the  Kistna  and  Godavari  into  a  brave 
but  rapacious  soldier. 

We  have  abundant  examples,  and  I  trust  need  not  exclaim  with 
the  wise  minister  of  Akbar,  "  who  so  happj^  as  to  profit  by  them  ?  "- 

The  Rajput,  with  all  his  turbulence,  possesses  in  an  eminent 
degTee  both  loyalty  and  patriotism  ;  and  though  he  occasionally 
exhibits  his  refractory  spirit  to  his  [195]  father  and  sovereign,^ 
we  shall  see  of  what  he  is  capable  when  his  country  is  threatened 
with  dismemberment,  from  the  history  of  Mewar,  and  the  reign 
of  Ajit  Singh  of  Marwar.  In  this  last  we  have  one  of  the  noblest 
examples  history  can  afford  of  unbounded  devotion.  A  prince, 
whom  not  a  dozen  of  his  subjects  had  ever  seen,  who  had  been 
concealed  from  the  period  of  his  birth  throughout  a  tedious 
minority  to  avoid  the  snares  of  a  tyrant,*  by  the  mere  magic  of 
a  name  kept  the  discordant  materials  of  a  great  feudal  association 

scarcely  be  given  than  in  the  recent  civil  distractions  at  Kotab,  where  a 
mercenary  army  raised  and  maintained  by  the  Regent,  either  openly  or 
covertly  declared  against  him,  as  did  the  whole  feudal  body  to  a  man,  the 
moment  their  yomig  prince  asserted  his  subverted  claims,  and  in  the  cause 
of  their  rightful  lord  abandoned  all  consideration  of  self,  their  families  and 
lands,  and  with  their  followers  offered  their  lives  to  redeem  his  rights  or 
perish  in  the  attempt.  No  empty  boast,  as  the  conclusion  testified.  God 
forbid  that  we  should  have  more  such  examples  of  Rajput  devotion  to  their 
sense  of  fidehty  to  their  lords  ! 

^  See  statement  of  its  revenues  during  the  last  emperor,  who  had  pre- 
served the  empire  of  Delhi  united. 

^  Abu-1  Fazl  uses  this  expression  when  moralizing  on  the  fall  of  Shihabu-d- 
din,  king  of  Ghazni  and  first  estabhshed  monarch  of  India,  slain  by  Prith- 
wiraja,  the  Hindu  sovereign  of  Delhi  [Ain,  ii.  302].  [Muhammad  Ghori, 
Shihabu-d-din,  was  murdered  on  the  road  to  Ghazni  by  a  fanatic  of  the 
Mulahidah  sect,  in  March,  a.d.  1206  (Tabakat-t-Ndsiri,  in  EUiot-Dowson 
ii.  297,  235).  According  to  the  less  probable  account  of  Ferishta  (Briggs, 
i.  185),  he  was  murdered  at  Rohtak  by  a  gang  of  Gakkhars  or  rather  Khok- 
hars  (Rose,  Glossary,  ii.  275).] 

'  The  Rajput,  who  possesses  but  an  acre  of  land,  has  the  proud  feeling 
of  common  origin  with  his  sovereign,  and  in  styling  him  bapji  (sire),  he 
thinks  of  liim  as  the  common  father  or  representative  of  the  race.  What 
a  powerful  incentive  to  action  !  ■*  Aurangzeb. 

VOL.  I  Q 


226  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

in  subjection,  till,  able  to  bear  arms,  he  issued  from  his  conceal- 
ment to  head  these  devoted  adherents,  and  reconquer  what  they 
had  so  long  struggled  to  maintain.  So  glorious  a  contest,  of 
twenty  years'  duration,  requires  but  an  historian  to  immortalize 
it.  Unfortunately  we  have  only  the  relation  of  isolated  en- 
counters, which,  though  exhibiting  a  prodigality  of  blood  and 
acts  of  high  devotion,  are  deficient  in  those  minor  details  which 
give  unity  and  interest  to  the  whole. 

Gallant  Services  to  the  Empire. — Let  us  take  the  Rajput  char- 
acter from  the  royal  historians  themselves,  from  Akbar,  Jahangir, 
Aurangzeb.  The  most  brilliant  conquests  of  these  monarchs 
were  by  their  Rajput  allies  ;  though  the  little  regard  the  latter 
had  for  opinion  alienated  the  sympathies  of  a  race,  who  when 
rightly  managed,  encountered  at  command  the  Afghan  amidst 
the  snows  of  Caucasus,  or  made  the  furthest  Cheronese  tributary 
to  the  empire.  Assam,  where  the  British  arms  were  recently 
engaged,  and  for  the  issue  of  which  such  anxiety  was  manifested 
in  the  metropolis  of  Britain,  was  conquered  by  a  Rajput  prince,! 
whose  descendant  is  now  an  ally  of  the  British  Government. 

But  Englishmen  in  the  east,  as  elsewhere,  imdervalue  every- 
thing not  national.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  conquest, 
not  reverses  :  though  it  is  only  by  studying  the  character  of  those 
around  them  that  the  latter  can  be  avoided  and  this  superiority 
maintained.  Superficial  observers  imagine  that  from  lengthened 
predatory  spoliation  the  energy  of  the  Rajput  has  fled  :  an  idea 
which  is  at  once  erroneous  and  dangerous.  The  vices  now  mani- 
fest from  oppression  will  disappear  [196]  with  the  cause,  and  with 
reviving  prosperity  new  feelings  will  be  generated,  and  each 
national  tie  and  custom  be  strengthened.  The  Rajput  would 
glory  in  putting  on  his  saffron  robes  ^  to  fight  for  such  a  land,  and 
for  those  who  disinterestedly  laboured  to  benefit  it. 

'  Raja  Man  of  Jaipur,  who  took  Arakan,  Orissa,  and  Assam.  Raja 
Jaswant  Singh  of  Marwar  retook  Kabul  for  Aurangzeb,  and  was  rewarded 
by  poison.  Raja  Ram  Singh  Hara,  of  Kotah,  made  several  important 
conquests  ;  and  liis  grandson,  Raja  Isari  Singh,  and  his  five  brothers,  were 
left  on  one  field  of  battle. 

^  When  a  Rajput  is  determined  to  hold  out  to  the  last  in  fighting,  he 
always  puts  on  a  robe  dyed  in  saffron.  [This  was  the  common  practice, 
saffron  being  the  colour  of  the  bridal  robe  (Malcolm,  Memoir  of  Central 
India,  2nd  ed.  i.  358 ;  Grant  Duff,  Hist,  of  the  Mahrattas,  317  ;  Forbes, 
Easmula,  408).] 


RAJPUT  LOYALTY  AND  PATRIOTISM  227 

Let  us,  then,  apply  history  to  its  proper  use.  We  need  not 
turn  to  ancient  Rome  for  illustration  of  the  dangers  inseparable 
from  wide  dominion  and  extensive  alhances.  The  twenty-two 
Satrapies  of  India,  the  greater  part  of  which  are  now  the  appanage 
of  Britain,  exhibited,  even  a  century  ago,  one  of  the  most  splendid 
monarchies  history  has  made  known,  too  extensive  for  the  genius 
of  any  single  individual  effectually  to  control.  Yet  was  it  held 
together,  till  encroachment  on  their  rights,  and  disregard  to  their 
habits  and  religious  opinions,  alienated  the  Rajputs,  and  excited 
the  inhabitants  of  the  south  to  rise  against  their  Mogul  oppressors. 
'  Then  was  the  throne  of  Aurangzeb  at  the  mercy  of  a  Brahman, 
and  the  grandson  ^  of  a  cultivator  in  the  province  of  Khandesh 
held  the  descendants  of  Timur  pensioners  on  his  bounty  '  [197]. 

'  Sindhia 


APPENDIX 

PAPERS  REFERRED  TO  IN  THE  SKETCH  OF  A 
FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

BEING 

Literal    Translations   from     Inscriptions    and    Original 
Documents,  most  of  zvhich  are  in  the  Author's  Possession 

No.  I 

Translation  of  a  Letter  from  the  expatriated  Chiefs  ^  of  Marwar  to 
the  Political  Agent  of  the  British  Government,  Western  Rajput 
States. 

After  compliments. 

We  have  sent  to  you  a  confidential  person,  who  will  relate  what 
regards  us.  The  Sarkar  Company  are  sovereigns  of  Hindustan, 
and  you  know  well  all  that  regards  our  condition.  Although 
there  is  nothing  which  respects  either  ourselves  or  our  country 
hid  from  you,  yet  is  there  matter  immediately  concerning  us 
which  it  is  necessary  to  make  known. 

Sri  Maharaja  and  ourselves  are  of  one  stock,  all  Rathors.  He 
is  our  head,  we  his  servants  :  but  now  anger  has  seized  him,  and 
we  are  dispossessed  of  our  country.  Of  the  estates,  our  patri- 
mony and  our  dwelling,  some  have  been  made  khalisa,^  and  those 
who  endeavour  to  keep  aloof  expect  the  same  fate.  Some  under 
the  most  solemn  pledge  of  security  have  been  inveigled  and 
suffered  death,  and   others   imprisoned.     Mutasadis,^  officers   of 

1  The  names  omitted  to  prevent  any  of  them  faUing  a  sacrifice  to  the 
blind  fury  of  their  prince.  The  brave  chief  of  Nimaj  has  sold  his  life,  but 
dearly.  In  vain  do  we  look  in  the  annals  of  Europe  for  such  devotion  and 
generous  despair  as  marked  his  end,  and  that  of  his  brave  clan.  He  was  a 
perfect  gentleman  in  deportment,  modest  and  mild,  and  head  of  a  powerful 
clan.  *  Fiscal,  that  is,  sequestrated 

^  Clerks,  and  inferior  officers  of  government. 

228 


TRANSLATION  OF  LETTER  229 

state,  men  of  the  soil  and  those  foreign  to  it,  have  been  seized, 
and  the  most  unheard-of  deeds  and  cruelties  inflicted,  which  we 
cannot  even  write.  Such  a  spirit  has  possessed  his  mind  as  never 
was  known  to  any  former  prince  of  Jodhpur.  His  forefathers 
have  reigned  for  generations  ;  our  forefathers  were  their  ministers 
and  advisers,  and  whatever  was  performed  was  by  the  collective 
wisdom  of  the  coimcil  of  our  chiefs.  Before  the  face  of  his  an- 
cestors, our  own  ancestors  have  slain  and  been  slain  ;  and  in  per- 
forming services  to  the  kings, ^  they  made  the  State  of  Jodhpur 
what  it  is.  Wherever  Marwar  was  concerned,  there  our  fathers 
were  to  be  found,  and  v/ith  their  lives  preserved  the  land.  Some- 
times our  head  was  a  minor  ;  even  then  by  the  wisdom  of  our 
fathers  and  their  services,  the  land  was  kept  firm  under  our  feet, 
and  thus  has  it  descended  from  generation  to  generation.  Before 
his  eyes  (Raja  Man's)  we  have  performed  good  service  :  when 
at  that  perilous  time  the  host  of  Jaipur  ^  surrounded  [198]  Jodhpur 
on  the  field  we  attacked  it ;  our  lives  and  fortimes  were  at  stake, 
and  God  granted  us  success  ;  the  witness  is  God  Almighty. 
Now,  men  of  no  consideration  are  in  our  prince's  presence ;  hence 
this  reverse.  When  our  services  are  acceptable,  then  is  he  our  lord  ; 
when  not,  we  are  again  his  brothers  and  kindred,  claimants  and 
laying  claim  to  the  land. 

He  desires  to  dispossess  us  ;  but  can  we  let  ourselves  be  dispos- 
sessed ?     The  English  are  masters  of  all  India.     The  chief  of • 

sent  his  agent  to  Ajmer  ;  he  was  told  to  go  to  Delhi.  Accord- 
ingly Thakur went  there,  but  no  path  was  pointed  out.     If 

the  English  chiefs  will  not  hear  us,  who  will  ?  Th#  English  allow 
no  one's  lands  to  be  usurped,  and  our  birthplace  is  Marwar — from 
Marwar  we  must  have  bread.  A  hundred  thousand  Rathors — 
where  are  they  to  go  to  ?  From  respect  to  the  English  alone 
have  we  been  so  long  patient,  and  without  acquainting  your 
government  of  our  intentions,  you  might  afterwards  find  fault  ; 
therefore  wx  make  it  known,  and  we  thereby  acquit  ourselves  to 
you.  What  we  brought  with  us  from  Marwar  we  have  consumed; 
and  even  what  we  could  get  on  credit ;  and  now,  when  want 
must  make  us  perish,  we  are  ready  and  can  do  anything.^ 

The  English  are  our  rulers,  our  masters.  Sri  Man  Singh  has 
seized  our  lands  ;  by  your  government  interposing  these  troubles 
may  be  settled,  but  without  its  guarantee  and  intervention  we  can 
have  no  confidence  whatever.     Let  us  have  a  reply  to  our  petition. 

^  Alluding  to  the  sovereigns  of  Delhi.  In  the  magnificent  feudal  assem- 
blage at  this  gorgeous  court,  where  seventy-six  princes  stood  in  the  Divan 
(Diwan-i-Khass)  each  by  a  pillar  covered  with  plates  of  silver,  the  Marwar 
prince  had  the  right  hand  of  all.  I  have  an  original  letter  from  the  great- 
grandfather of  Raja  Man  to  the  Rana.  elate  with  this  honour. 

2  In  180G. 

^  The  historian  of  the  Middle  Ages  justly  remarks,  that  "  the  most 
deadly  hatred  is  that  which  men,  exasperated  by  proscription  and  forfeitures, 
bear  their  country." 


230  FEUDAL  SYSTEINI  IN  RAJASTHAN 

We  will  wait  it  in  patience  ;  but  if  we  get  none,  the  fault  will  not 
be  ours,  having  given  everywhere  notice.  Hunger  will  compel 
man  to  find  a  remedy.  For  such  a  length  of  time  we  have  been 
silent  from  respect  to  your  govermiient  alone  :  our  own  Sarkar 
is  deaf  to  complaint.  But  to  what  extreme  shall  we  wait  ?  Let 
our  hopes  be  attended  to.  Sambat  1878,  Sawan  sudi  duj. 
(August  1821.) 

True  Translation  : 

(Signed)  James  Tod. 


No.  II 

Remonstrance  of  the  Sub-Vassals  of  Deogarh  against  their  chief, 
Rawat  Gokul  Das. 

1.  He  respects  not  the  privileges  or  customs  established  of  old. 

2.  To  each  Rajput's  house  a  charas  ^  or  hide  of  land  was 
attached  :    this  he  has  resumed. 

3.  Whoever  bribes  him  is  a  true  man  :  who  does  not,  is  a 
thief. 

4.  Ten  or  twelve  villages  established  by  his  pattayats  ^  he  has 
resumed,  and  left  their  families  to  starve. 

5.  From  time  immemorial  sanctuary  [saran)  has  been  esteemed 
sacred  :    this  he  has  abolished. 

6.  On  emergencies  he  would  pledge  his  oath  to  his  subjects 
(ryots),  and  afterwards  plunder  them. 

7.  In  old  times,  it  was  customary  when  the  presence  of  his 
chiefs  and  kindred  was  required,  to  invite  them  by  letter  :  a  fine 
is  now  the  warrant  of  summons  :   thus  lessening  their  dignity. 

8.  Such  messengers,  in  former  times,  had  a  taka  ^  for  their 
ration  (bhatta)  ;   now  he  imposes  two  rupees  [199]. 

9.  Formerly,  when  robberies  occurred  in  the  mountains  within 
the  limits  of  Deogarh,  the  loss  was  made  good  :  now  all  complaint 
is  useless,  for  his  faujdar  *  receives  a  fourth  of  all  such  plunder. 
The  Mers  ^  range  at  liberty  ;  but  before  they  never  committed 
murder  :  now  they  slay  as  well  as  rob  our  kin  ;  nor  is  there  any 
redress,  and  such  plunder  is  even  sold  within  the  town  of  Deogarh. 

10.  Without  crime,  he  resumes  the  lands  of  his  vassals  for  the 

'  Hide  or  skin,  from  the  vessel  used  in  irrigation  being  made  of  leather. 

^  The  vassals,  or  those  holding  fiefs  (patta)  of  Deogarh. 

'  A  copper  coin,  equal  to  twopence. 

*  Mihtary  commander  ;  a  kind  of  inferior  maire  du  ]mlais,  on  every 
Rajput  chieftain's  estate,  and  who  has  the  miUtary  command  of  the  vassals. 
Ele  is  seldom  of  the  same  family,  but  generally  of  another  tribe. 

^  Mountaineers. 


THE  DEOGARH  PETITION  231 

sake  of  imposition  of  fines  ;  and  after  such  are  paid,  he  cuts  down 
the  green  crops,  with  which  he  feeds  his  horses. 

11.  The  cultivators^  on  the  lands  of  tlie  vassals  he  seizes  by 
force,  extorts  fines,  or  sells  their  cattle  to  pay  them.  Thus  cul- 
tivation is  ruined  and  the  inhabitants  leave  the  country. 

12.  From  oppression  the  town  magistrates  -  of  Deogarh  have 
fled  to  Raepur.  He  lays  in  watch  to  seize  and  extort  money  from 
them. 

13.  When  he  summons  his  vassals  for  purposes  of  extortion 
and  they  escape  his  clutches,  he  seizes  on  their  wives  and  families. 
Females,  from  a  sense  of  honour,  have  on  such  occasions  thrown 
themselves  into  wells. 

14.  He  interferes  to  I'ecover  old  debts,  distraining  the  debtor 
of  all  he  has  in  the  world  :   half  he  receives. 

15.  If  any  one  have  a  good  horse,  by  fair  means  or  foul  he 
contrives  to  get  it. 

16.  When  Deogarh  ivas  established,  at  the  same  time  zvere  our 
allotments  :  as  is  his  2)atrimony,  so  is  our  patrimony.^  Thousands 
have  been  expended  in  establishing  and  improving  them,  yet  our 
rank,  privileges,  and  rights  he  equally  disregards. 

17.  From  these  villages,  founded  by  our  forefathers,  he,  at 
will,  takes  four  or  five  skins  of  land  and  bestows  them  on 
foreigners  ;  and  thus  the  ancient  proprietors  are  reduced  to 
poverty  and  ruin. 

18.  From  of  old,  all  his  Rajput  kin  had  daily  rations,  or  portions 
of  grain  :   for  four  years  these  rights  have  been  abolished. 

19.  From  ancient  times  the  pattayats  formed  his  council  ; 
now  he  consults  only  foreigners.  What  has  been  the  conse- 
quence ?  the  whole  annual  revenue  derived  from  the  mountains 
is  lost. 

20.  From  the  ancient  Bhum  '  of  the  Frerage  ^  the  mountaineers 
carry  off  the  cattle,  and  instead  of  redeeming  them,  this  faujdar 
sets  the  plunderers  up  to  the  trick  of  demanding  rakhwali.* 

21.  Money  is  justice,  and  there  is  none  other  :  whoever  has 
money  may  be  heard.  The  bankers  and  merchants  have  gone 
abroad  for  protection,  but  he  asks  not  where  they  are. 

22.  When  cattle  are  driven  off  to  the  hills,  and  we  do  ourselves 
justice  and  recover  them,  we  are  fined,  and  told  that  the  moun- 
taineers have  his  pledge.     Thus  our  dignity  is  lessened.     Or  if 

^  Of  the  Jat  and  other  labouring  tribes.  ' 

*  Chauthias.  In  everj'^  town  there  is  an  unpaid  magistracy,  of  which 
the  head  is  the  Nagar  Seth,  or  chief  citizen,  and  the  four  Chauthias,  tanta- 
mount to  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  who  hold  their  courts  and  decide 
in  all  ci\nl  cases. 

^  Here  are  the  precise  sentiments  embodied  in  the  remonstrances  of  the 
great  feudal  chiefs  of  Marwar  to  their  prince  ;   see  Appendix,  No.  I. 

*  The  old  allodial  allotments. 

*  Bhayyad. 

*  The  salvainenta  of  our  feudal  writers  ;   the  blackmail  of  the  north. 


232  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

we  seize  one  of  these  marauders,  a  party  is  sent  to  liberate  him, 
for  which  the  faujdar  [200]  receives  a  bribe.  Then  a  feud  ensues 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Hberated  Mer,  and  the  unsupported 
Rajput  is  obhged  to  abandon  his  patrimony.^  There  is  neither 
protection  nor  support.  The  chief  is  supine,  and  so  regardless 
of  honour,  that  he  tells  us  to  take  money  to  the  hills  and  redeem 
our  property.  Since  this  faujdar  had  power,  '  poison  has  been 
our  fate.'  Foreigners  are  all  in  all,  and  the  home-bred  are  set 
aside.  Deccanis  and  plunderers  enjoy  the  lands  of  his  brethren. 
Without  fault,  the  chiefs  are  deprived  of  their  lands,  to  bring 
which  into  order  time  and  money  have  been  lavished.  Justice 
there  is  none. 

Our  rights  and  privileges  in  his  famUy  are  the  same  as  his  in 
the  family  of  the  Presence.^  Since  you  '  entered  Mewar,  lands 
long  lost  have  been  recovered.  What  crimes  have  we  committed 
that  at  this  day  we  should  lose  ours  ? 

We  are  in  great  trouble.* 


No.  Ill 

Maharaja  Sri  Gokuldas  to  the  four  ranks  (char  misl)  of  Pattayats 
of  Deogarh,  commanding.     Peruse. 

Without  crime  no  vassal  shall  have  his  estate  or  charsas  dis- 
seized. Should  any  individual  commit  an  offence,  it  shall  be 
judged  by  the  four  ranks  (char  misl),  my  brethren,  and  then 
pxmished.  Without  consulting  them  on  all  occasions  I  shall 
never  inflict  punishment.^  To  this  I  swear  by  Sri  Nathji.  No 
departure  from  this  agreement  shall  ever  occur.  S.  1874  ;  the 
6th  Pus. 

1   '  Watan.'  2  tj^^  ^g^y^g,,  3  The  Author. 

*  With  the  articles  of  complaint  of  the  vassals  of  Deogarh  and  the  short 
extorted  charter,  to  avoid  future  cause  for  such,  we  may  contrast  the 
following  :  "  Pour  avoir  une  idee  du  brigandage  que  les  nobles  exer^aient 
a  I'epoque  oil  les  premieres  chartes  f  ureut  accordees,  il  sufiit  d'en  lire  quelques- 
unes,  et  Ton  verra  que  le  seigneur  y  disait : — '  Je  promets  de  ne  point 
voler,  extorquer  les  biens  et  les  meubles  des  habitans,  de  les  dehvrer  des 
totes  ou  rapines,  et  autres  mauvaises  coutumes,  et  de  ne  plus  commettre 
envers  eux  d'exactions.' — En  effet,  dans  ces  terns  malheureux,  vivres, 
meubles,  chevaux,  voitures,  dit  le  savant  Abbe  de  Mably,  tout  etait  enleve 
par  I'insatiable  et  aveugle  avidite  des  seigneurs  "  (Art.  '  Chartres,'  Diet, 
de  VAncien  Regime). 

^  This  reply  to  the  remonstrance  of  his  vassals  is  perfectly  similar  in 
point  to  the  43rd  article  of  Magna  Charta. 


I  ^'^<^'■x^^^^^f^it^'.:(^.K^rH  w?!*^ 


^ 


■^^mm&it. 


>3>; 


REPKODUCTION   OF  SANSKRIT   GRANT. 


To  face  page  232. 


GRANTS  233 


No.  IV 


Grant  from  Maharana  Ari  Singh,  Prince  of  Mewar,  to  the  Sindi 
Chief,  Abdu-l  Rahim  Beg. 

Ramji !  ^ 
Ganeshji  !  ^  Ekiingji  !  ^ 

Sri  Maharaja  Dhiraj  Maharana  Ari  Singh  to  Mirza  Abdu-l 
Rahim  Beg  Adilbegot,  commanding. 

Now  some  of  our  chiefs  having  rebelled  and  set  up  the  impostor 
Ratna  Singh,  brought  the  [201]  Deccani  army  and  erected 
batteries  against  Udaipur,  in  which  circumstances  your  services 
have  been  great  and  tended  to  the  preservation  of  our  sovereignty  : 
therefore,  in  favour  towards  you,  I  have  made  this  grant,  which 
your  children  and  children's  children  shall  continue  to  enjoy. 
You  will  continue  to  serve  faithfully  ;  and  whoever  of  my  race 
shall  dispossess  you  or  yours,  on  liim  be  Ekiingji  and  the  sin  of  the 
slaughter  of  Chitor. 

Particulars. 

1st.    In  estates,  200,000  rupees. 

2nd.  In  cash  annually,  25,000. 

3rd.  Lands  outside  the  Debari  gate,  10,000. 

4th.  As  a  residence,  the  dwelling-house  called  Bharat  Singh's. 

5th.  A  hundred  bighas  of  land  outside  the  city  for  a  garden. 

6th.  The  town  of  Mithim  in  the  valley,  to  supply  wood  and 
forage. 

7th.  To  keep  up  the  tomb  of  Ajmeri  Beg,  who  fell  in  action, 
one  hundred  bighas  of  land. 

Privileges  and  Honours. 

8th.  A  seat  in  Darbar  and  rank  in  all  respects  equal  to  the 
chieftain  of  Sadri.^ 

9th.  Your  kettle-drums  (Nakkara)  to  beat  to  the  exterior  gate, 
but  with  one  stick  only. 

10th.  Amar  Balaona,^  and  a  dress  of  honour  on  the  Dasahra  * 
festival. 

1  Invocations  to  Ram,  Ganesh  (god  of  wisdom),  and  Eklinga,  tlie  patron- 
divinity  of  the  Sesodia  Guhilots. 

2  The  first  of  the  foreign  vassals  of  the  Rana's  house.  [Bari  Sadri,  about 
50  miles  E.S.E.  of  Udaipur  city,  held  by  the  senior  noble  of  Mewar,  a  Rajput 
of  the  Jhala  sub-sept,  styled  Raja  of  Sadri  (Erskine  ii.  A.  93).] 

^  A  horse  furnished  by  the  prince,  always  replaced  when  he  dies,  there- 
fore called  Amar,  or  immortal. 

*  The  grand  miUtary  festival,  when  a  muster  is  made  of  all  the  Rajput 
quotas. 


234  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

11th.  Drums  to  beat  to  Aliar.  All  other  privileges  and  rank 
like  the  house  of  Salumbar.^  Like  that  house,  yours  shall  be 
from  generation  to  generation  ;  therefore  according  to  the  valua- 
tion of  your  grant  you  will  serve. 

12th.  Your  brothers  or  servants,  whom  you  may  dismiss,  I 
shall  not  entertain  or  suffer  my  chief  to  entertain. 

13th.  The  Chamars  ^  and  Kirania  *  you  may  use  at  all  times 
when  alone,  but  never  in  the  Presence. 

14th.  Munawwar  Beg,  Anwar  Beg,  Chaman  Beg,  are  permitted 
seats  in  front  of  the  throne  ;  Amar  Balaona,  and  honorary  dresses 
on  Dasahra,  and  seats  for  two  or  three  other  relatives  who  may 
be  found  worthy  the  honour. 

15th.  Your  agent  (Vakil)  shall  remain  at  court  with  the  privi- 
leges due  to  his  rank. 

By  command  : 

Sah  Moti  Ram  Bolia, 
S.  1826  (a.d.  1770)  Bhadon  (August)  sudi  11  Somwar  (Monday). 


No.  V 

Grant  of  Vie  Patta  of  Bhainsror  to  Rawai  Lai  Singh,  one  of  the 
sixteen  great  vassals  of  Mewar. 

Maharaja  Jagat  Singh  to  Rawat  Lai  Singh  Kesarisinghgot,* 
commanding. 

Now  to  you  the  whole  Pargana  of  Bhainsror  ^  is  granted  as 
Giras,  viz.  [202]  : 

Town  of  Bhainsror         .  .  .       3000  1500 

Fifty-two  others  (names  uninterest- 
ing), besides  one  in  the  valley  of 

the  capital.     Total  value  .  .     62,000  31,000  « 

With  two  hundred  and  forty-eight  horse  and  two  hundred 
and  forty-eight  foot,  good  horse  and  good  Rajputs,  you  will 
perform  service.  Of  this,  forty-eight  horse  and  forty-eight  foot 
are  excused  for  the  protection  of  your  fort  ;  therefore  with  two 
hundred  foot  and  two  hundred  horse  you  will  serve  when  and 
wherever  ordered.  The  first  grant  was  given  in  Pus,  S.  1798, 
when  the  income  inserted  was  over-rated.  Understanding  this,  the 
Presence  (huzur)  ordered  sixty  thousand  of  annual  value  to  be 
attached  to  Bhainsror. 

^  The  first  of  the  home-chieftains. 
^  The  tail  of  the  wild  ox,  worn  across  the  saddle-bow. 
^  An  umbrella  or  shade  against  the  sun  ;  from  kiran,  '  a  ray.' 
*  Clan  (got)  of  Kesari  Singh,  one  of  the  great  branches  of  the  Chondawats. 
^  On  the  left  bank  of  the  Chambal. 

'  To  explain  these  double  rekhs,  or  estimates,  one  is  the  full  value^  the 
other  the  deteriorated  rate. 


GRANTS  235 


No.  VI 


Grant  from  Maharana  Sangram  Singh  of  Meivar  to  his  Nephew, 
the  Prince  Madho  Singh,  heir-apparent  to  the  principality  of 
Jaipur. 

Sri  Ramjayati 
{Victory  to  Rama). 
Sri  Ganesh  Prasad  Sri  Ekling  Prasad 

(By  favour  of  Ganesh).  {By  favour  of  Eklinga). 


^  ^ 


(See  notes  1  and  2  below.) 

Maharaja  Dhiraj  Maharana  Sri  Sangram  Singh,  Adisatu,  com- 
manding. To  my  nephew,  Kunwar  Madho  Singhji,  giras  (a  fief) 
has  been  granted,  viz.  : 

The  fief  {patta)  of  Rampura  ;  therefore,  with  one  thousand 
horse  and  two  thousand  foot,  you  will  perform  service  during  six 
months  annually  ;  and  when  foreign  service  is  required,  three 
thousand  foot  and  three  thousand  horse. 

While  the  power  of  the  Presence  is  maintained  in  these  districts 
you  will  not  be  dispossessed. 

By  command  : 

Pancholi  Raechand  amd  Mehta  Mul  Das. 

S,  1785  (a.d.  1729)  ;  Chait  sudi  7th  ;  Mangalwar  (Tuesday). 

Addressed  in  the  Rana's  own  hand. 

To  my  nephew  Madho  Singh  ^  [203].  My  child,  I  have  given 
you  Rampura :  while  mine,  you  shall  not  be  deprived  of  it. 
Done. 

^  The  bhala,  or  lance,  is  the  sign-manual  of  the  Salumbar  chieftain,  as 
hereditary  premier  of  the  state. 

^  Is  a  monogram  forming  the  word  Sahai,  being  the  sign-manual  of  the 
prince. 

'  BJianaij  is  sister's  son  ;  as  Bhatija  is  brother's  son.  It  will  be  seen  in 
the  Annals,  that  to  support  this  prince  to  the  succession  of  the  Jaipur  Gaddi, 
both  Mewar  and  Jaipur  were  ruined,  and  the  power  of  the  Deccanis  estab- 
hshed  in  both  countries. 


236  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

No.  VII 

Grant  of  Bhum  Rakhwali  (Salvamenta)  from  the  village  of  Dongla 
to  Maharaja  Khushhal  Singh. 

S.  1806  (a.d.  1750),  the  first  of  Saxvan  {July). 
1st.  A   field  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  bighas,  of   which 
thirty-six  are  irrigated. 

2nd.  One  hundred  and  two  bighas  of  waste  and  unirrigated, 
viz.  : 

Six  bighas  cultivated  by  Govinda  the  oilman. 

Three,  under  Hira  and  Tara  the  oilmen. 

Seventeen  cultivated  by  the  mason  Hansa,  and  I-al 

the  oilman. 
Four  bighas  of  waste  and  forest  land  {parti,  aryana) 
which  belonged  to   Govinda  and  'Hira,   etc.,   etc.  ; 
and  so  on  enumerating  all  the  fields  composing  the 
above  aggregate. 

Dues  and  Privileges 

Pieces  of  money     .  .12. 

Grain    .  .  .  .24  maunds. 

On   the    festivals    of   Rakhi,    Diwali,    and    Holi,    one 

copper  coin  from  each  house. 
Serana  .  .  .at  harvest. 

Shukri  from  the  Brahmans. 
Transit  duties  for  protection  of  merchandise,  viz.,  a 

pice  on  every  cart-load,  and  half  a  pice  for  each 

bullock. 
Two  platters  on  every  marriage  feast. 


No.  VIII 

Grant  of  Bhum  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Amli  to  Rawat  Fateh 
Singh  of  Amet.     S.  1814  (a.d.  17.58) 

The  Ranawats  Sawant  Singh  and  Subhag  Singh  had  Amli  in 
grant ;  but  they  were  oppressive  to  the  inhabitants,  slew  the 
Patels  .lodha  and  Bhagi,  and  so  ill-treated  the  Brahmans,  that 
Kusal  and  Nathu  sacrificed  themselves  on  the  pyre.  The  in- 
habitants demanded  the  protection  of  the  Rana,  and  the  pattayats 
were  changed  ;  and  now  the  inhabitants  grant  in  rakhwali  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  bighas  as  bhum  to  Fateh  Singh  ^  [204]. 

^  This  is  a  proof  of  the  value  attached  to  bhum,  when  granted  by  the 
inhabitants,  as  the  first  act  of  the  new  proprietor  though  holding  the  whole 
town  from  the  crown,  was  to  obtain  these  few  bighas  as  bhum.  After 
having  been  sixty  years  in  that  family,  Audi  has  been  resumed  by  the 
crown  :  the  bhum  has  remained  with  the  chief. 


GRANTS  237 


No.  IX 


Grant  of  Bhum  by  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Dongla  to 
Maharaja  Zoraivar  Singh,  of  Bhindar. 

To  Sri  Maharaja  Zorawar  Singh,  the  Patels,  traders,  merchants, 
Brahmans,  and  united  inhabitants  of  Dongla,  make  agreement. 

Formerly  the  '  runners  '  in  Dongla  were  numerous  :  to  pre- 
serve us  from  whom  we  granted  bhum  to  the  IMaharaja.    To  wit : 

One  well,  that  of  Hira  the  oilman. 

One  well,  that  of  Dipa  the  oilman. 

One  well,  that  of  Dewa  the  oilman. 

In  all,  three  wells,  being  forty-four  bighas  of  irrigated  (pixval), 
and  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  bighas  of  unirrigated  (mat)  land. 
Also  a  field  for  juar. 

Customs  or  Dignities  (Maryad)  attached  to  the  Bhum. 

1st.    A  dish  (kansa)  on  every  marriage. 

2nd.  Six  hundred  rupees  ready  cash  annually. 

3rd.  All  Bhumias,  Girasias,  the  high  roads,  passes  from  raids 
and  '  runners,'  and  all  distiu-bances  whatsoever,  the  Maharaja 
must  settle. 

When  the  Maharaja  is  pleased  to  let  the  inhabitants  of  Dongla 
reinhabit  their  dwellings,  then  only  can  they  return  to  them.^ 

Written  by  the  accountant  Kacchia,  on  the  full  moon  of  Jeth, 
S.  1858,  and  signed  by  all  the  traders,  Brahmans,  and  towns- 
people. 


No.  X 

Grant  of  Bhum  by  the  Prince  of  Mewar  to  an  inferior  Vassal. 

Maharana  Bhini  Singh  to  Baba  Ram  Singh,  commanding. 

Now  a  field  of  two  htindred  and  twenty-five  bighas  in  the  city 
of  Jahazpur,  with  the  black  orchard  (sham  bagh)  and  a  farm-house 
(nohara)  for  cattle,  has  been  granted  you  in  bhum. 

Your  forefathers  recovered  for  me  Jahazpur  and  served  with 
fidelity  ;  on  which  account  this  bhum  is  renewed.  Rest  assured 
no  molestation  shall  be  offered,  nor  shall  any  pattayat  interfere 
with  you. 

Primleges. 

One  serana.^ 

Two  halmas  [205].' 

^  This  shows  how  bhum  was  extorted  in  these  periods  of  turbulence,  and 
that  this  individual  gift  was  as  much  to  save  them  from  the  effects  of  the 
Maharaja's  violence- as  to  gain  protection  from  that  of  others. 

^  A  seer  on  each  inaund  of  produce. 

'  The  labour  of  two  ploughs  {hal).     Halma  is  the  personal  service  of  the 


238  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

Offerings  of  coco-nuts  on  the  Holi  and  Dasahra  festivals. 

From  every  hundred  bullock-loads  ^   of  merchandise,  twelve 
annas. 

From  every  hundred  and  twenty -five  ass-loads,  six  annas. 

From  each  horse  sold  within  Jahazpur,  two  annas. 

From  each  camel  sold,  one  anna. 

From  each  oil-mill,  one  pula. 

From  each  ix'on  mine  (madri),  a  quarter  rupee. 

From  each  distillation  of  spirits,  a  quarter  rupee. 

From  each  goat  slain,  one  pice. 

On  births  and  marriages,^  five  platters  {kansa). 

The  handful  (inch)  from  every  basket  of  greens. 

With  every  other  privilege  attached  to  blium. 

Irrigated  land  (piwal)  .  .  .51  bighas. 

Unirrigated  land  [mal)  .  .  .110       „ 

Mountain  land  (magra)  .  ,  .     40       ,, 

Meadow  land  {bira)      .  .  .  .     25       „ 

226  bighas. 
Asarh  (June)  S.  1853  (a.d.  1797). 

husbandman  with  his  plough  for  such  time  as  is  specified.  Halma  is  pre- 
cisely the  detested  corvee  of  the  French  regime.  "  Les  corvees  sont  tout 
ouvrage  ou  service,  soit  de  corps  ou  de  charrois  et  betes,  pendant  le  jour, 
qui  est  du  a  un  seigneur.  II  y  avait  deux  sortes  de  corvees  :  les  reelles  et 
/es  personnelles,  etc.  Quelquefois  le  nombre  des  corvees  etait  fixe  :  mais,  le 
plus  souvent,  elles  etaient  a  volonte  du  seigneur,  et  c'est  ce  qu'on  appelait 
corvees  a  ■merci"  (Art.  'Corv6e,'  Diet,  de  Vane.  Regime).  Almost  all  the 
exactions  for  the  last  century  in  Mewar  may  come  under  this  latter  denomina- 
tion. 

^  A  great  variety  of  oppressive  imposts  were  levied  by  the  chiefs  during 
these  times  of  trouble,  to  the  destruction  of  commerce  and  all  facility  of 
travelling.  Everything  was  subject  to  tax,  and  a  long  train  of  vexatious 
dues  exacted  for  "  repairs  of  forts,  boats  at  ferries,  night-guards,  guards  of 
passes,"  and  other  appellations,  all  having  much  in  common  with  the 
'  Droit  de  Peage  '  in  France.  "  II  n'y  avait  pas  de  ponts,  de  gues,  de 
chaussees,  d'ecluses,  de  defiles,  de  portes,  etc.,  oil  les  feodaux  ne  fissent 
payer  un  droit  a  ceux  que  leurs  atlaires  ou  leur  commerce  for9aient  de 
voyager"  {Diet,  de  Vane.  Regime). 

^  The  privileges  of  our  Rajput  chieftains  on  the  marriages  of  their 
vassals  and  cultivating  subjects  are  confined  to  the  best  dishes  of  the  marriage 
feast  or  a  pecuniary  commutation.  This  is,  however,  though  in  a  minor 
degree,  one  of  the  vexatious  claims  of  feudality  of  the  French  system,  known 
under  the  term  norages,  where  the  seigneur  or  his  deputy  presided,  and 
had  the  right  to  be  placed  in  front  of  the  bride,  "  et  de  chanter  a  la  fin  du 
rejaas,  une  chanson  guillerette."  But  they  even  carried  their  insolence 
further,  and  "  pousserent  leur  mepris  pour  les  villains  (the  agricultural 
classes  of  the  Rajput  system)  jusqu'a  exiger  que  leurs  chiens  eussent  leur 
convert  aupres  de  la  mariee,  et  qu'on  les  laissat  manger  sur  la  table  "  (Art. 
'  Nonages,'  Diet,  de  Vane.  Regime). 


GRANTS,  CHARTERS  239 


No.  XI 


Charter  of  Privileges  and  Immunities  granted  to  the  town  of 
Jhalrapatan,  engraved  on  a  Pillar  in  that  City. 

S.  1853  (a.d.  1797),  corresponding  with  the  Saka  1718,  the  sun 
being  in  the  south,  the  season  of  cold,  and  the  happy  month  of 
Kartika,"^  the  enhghtened  half  of  the  month,  being  Monday  the 
full  moon. 

Maharaja  Dhiraj  Sri  Ummed  Singh  Deo,^  the  Faujdar  ^  Raj 
Zalim  Singh  [206]  and  Kunwar  Madho  Singh,  commanding.  To 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Jhalrapatan,  Patels,*  Patwaris,^  Mahajans,* 
and  to  all  the  thirty-six  castes,  it  is  written. 

At  this  period  entertain  entire  confidence,  build  and  dwell. 

Within  this  abode  all  forced  contributions  and  confiscations 
are  for  ever  abolished.  The  taxes  called  Bhalamanusi,'  Anni,* 
and  Rekha  Barar,*  and  likewise  all  Bhetbegar,"  shall  cease. 

To  this  intent  is  this  stone  erected,  to  hold  good  from  year  to 
year,  now  and  evermore.  There  shall  be  no  violence  in  this 
territory.  This  is  sworn  by  the  cow  to  the  Hindu  and  the  hog  to 
the  Musalman  :  in  the  presence  of  Captain  Dilel  Khan,  Chaudhari 
Sarup  Chand,  Patel  Lalo,  the  Mahesri  Patwari  Balkishan,  the 
architect  Kalu  Ram,  and  the  stone-mason  Balkishan. 

Parmo  ^^  is  for  ever  abolished.  Whoever  dwells  and  traffics 
within  the  town  of  Patau,  one  half  of  the  transit  duties  usually 
levied  in  Haravati  are  remitted  ;  and  all  mapa  (meter's)  duties 
are  for  ever  abolished. 


No.  XII 

Abolitions,   Immunities,  Prohibitions,  etc.  etc.      Inscription 
in  the  Temple  of  Lachhmi  Narayan  at  Akola. 

In  former  times  tobacco  was  sold  in  one  market  only.  Rana 
Raj  Singh  commanded  the  monopoly  to  be  abolished.     S.  1645. 

Rana  Jagat  Singh  prohibited  the  seizure  of  the  cots  and  quilts 
by  the  officers  of  his  government  from  the  printers  of  Akola. 

^  December.  ^  The  Eaja  of  Kotah. 

'  Commander  of  the  forces  and  regent  of  Kotah. 

*  Officers  of  the  land  revenue.         ^  Land  accountants. 

*  The  mercantile  class.  '  Literally  '  good  behaviour.' 
^  An  agricultural  tax.  *  Tax  for  registering. 

^^  This  includes  in  one  word  the  forced  labour  exacted  from  the  working 
classes  :   the  corvee,  of  the  French  system. 

^^  Grain  thrown  on  the  inlia,bitants  at  an  arbitrary  rate ;  often  resorted 
to  at  Kotah,  where  the  regent  is  farmer  general. 


240  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 


No.  XIII 

Privileges  and  Immunities  granted  to  the  Printers  of  Calico 
and  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Great  Akola  in  Mewar. 

Maharana  Bhiin  Singh,  commanding,  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Great  Akola. 

Whereas  the  village  has  been  abandoned  from  the  assignments 
levied  by  the  garrison  of  Mandalgarh,  and  it  being  demanded  of 
its  population  how  it  could  again  be  rendered  prosperous,  they 
unanimously  replied  :  "  Not  to  exact  beyond  the  dues  and 
contributions  (dand  dor)  established  of  yore  ;  to  erect  the  piUar 
promising  never  to  exact  above  half  the  produce  of  the  crops,  or 
to  molest  the  persons  of  those  who  thus  paid  their  dues." 

The  Presence  agreed,  and  this  pillar  has  been  erected.  May 
Eklinga  look  to  him  who  breaks  this  command.  The  hog  to  the 
Musalman  and  the  cow  to  the  Hindu. 

Whatever  contributions  (dand)  parmo,^  puli,^  heretofore  levied 
shall  be  paid  [207]. 

All  crimes  committed  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Akola  to  be 
tried  by  its  inhabitants,  who  will  sit  in  justice  on  the  offender 
and  fine  him  according  to  his  faults. 

On  Amavas  *  no  work  shall  be  done  at  the  well  *  or  at  the  oil- 
mill,  nor  printer  put  his  dye-pot  on  the  fire.* 

Whoever  breaks  the  foregoing,  may  the  sin  of  the  slaughter  of 
Chi  tor  be  upon  him. 

This  pillar  was  erected  in  the  presence  of  Mehta  Sardar  Singh, 
Sanwal  Das,  the  Chaudharis  Bhopat  Ram  and  Daulat  Ram,  and 
the  assembled  Panch  of  Akola. 

Written  by  the  Chaudhari  Bhopji,  and  engraved  by  the  stone- 
cutter Rhima. 

S.  1856  (a.d.  1800) 


No.  XIV 

Prohibition  against  Guests  carrying  away  Provisions  from  the 
Public  Feasts 

Sri  Maharana  Sangram  Singh  to  the  inhabitants  of  Marmi. 
On  all  feasts  of  rejoicing,  as  well  as  those  on  the  ceremonies 

^  Grain,  the  property  of  the  government,  thrown  on  the  inhabitants 
for  purchase  at  an  arbitrary  valuation. 

2  The  handful  from  each  sheaf  at  harvest. 

^  A  day  sacred  to  the  Hindu,  being  that  which  divides  the  month. 

*  Meaning,  they  shall  not  irrigate  the  fields. 

*  This  part  of  the  edict  is  evidently  the  instigation  of  the  Jains,  to 
prevent  the  destruction  of  life,  though  only  that  of  insects. 

^  The  cause  of  this  sumptuary  edict  was  a  benevolent  motive,  and  to 


CHARTERS  241 

for  the  dead,  none  shall  carry  away  with  them  the  remains  of 
the  feast.  Whoever  thus  transgresses  shall  pay  a  fine  to  the 
crown  of  one  hundred  and  one  rupees.  S.  1769  (a.d.  1713),  Chait 
Sudi  7th. 


No.  XV 

Maharana  Sangram  Singh  to  the  merchants  and  bankers  of 
Bakrol. 

The  custom  of  furnishing  quilts  (sirak)  ^  of  which  you  complain 
is  of  ancient  date.  Now  when  the  collectors  of  duties,  their 
officers,  or  those  of  the  land  revenue  stop  at  Bakrol,  the  merchants 
will  furnish  them  with  beds  and  quilts.  All  other  servants  will 
be  supplied  by  the  other  inhabitants. 

Should  the  dam  of  the  lake  be  in  any  way  injured,  whoever 
does  not  aid  in  its  repair  shall,  as  a  punishment,  feed  one  hundred 
and  one  Brahmans.     Asarh  1715,  or  June  a.d.  1659  [208]. 


No.  XVI 

Warrant  of  the  Chief  of  Bijolli  to  his   Vassal,  Gopaldas 
Saktawat. 

Maharaja  Mandhata  to  Saktawat  Gopaldas,  be  it  known. 

At  this  time  a  daily  fine  of  four  rupees  is  in  force  against  you. 


prevent  the  expenses  on  these  occasions  falUng  too  heavily  on  the  poorer 
classes.  It  was  customary  for  the  women  to  carry  away  under  their  petti- 
coats (ghaghra)  sufficient  sweetmeats  for  several  days'  consumption.  The 
great  Jai  Singh  of  Amber  had  an  ordinance  restricting  the  number  of  guests 
to  fifty-one  on  these  occasions,  and  prohibited  to  all  but  the  four  wealthy 
classes  the  use  of  sugar-candy  :  the  others  were  confined  to  the  use  of 
molasses  and  brown  sugar.  To  the  lower  vassals  and  the  cultivators  these 
feasts  were  limited  to  the  coarser  fare  ;  to  juar  flour,  greens  and  oil.  A 
dyer  who  on  the  Holi  feasted  his  friends  with  sweetmeats  of  fine  sugar  and 
scattered  about  balls  made  of  brown  sugar,  was  fined  five  thousand  rupees 
for  setting  so  pernicious  an  example.  The  sadh,  or  marriage  present,  from 
the  bridegroom  to  the  bride's  father,  was  limited  to  fifty-one  rupees.  The 
great  sums  previously  paid  on  this  score  were  preventives  of  matrimony. 
Many  other  wholesome  regulations  of  a  much  more  important  kind,  especially 
those  for  the  suppression  of  infanticide,  were  instituted  by  this  prince. 

^  '  Defence  against  the  cold  weather  '  (si).  This  in  the  ancient  French 
regime  came  under  the  denomination  of  "  Albergie  ou  Hebergement,  un 
droit  royal.  Par  exemple,  ce  ne  fut  qu'apres  le  regne  de  Saint  Louis,  et 
moyennant  finances,  que  les  habitans  de  Paris  et  de  Corbeil  s'affranchirent, 
les  premiers  de  fournir  au  roi  et  k  sa  suite  de  bons  oreillers  et  d'excellens 
hts  de  plumes,  tant  qu'il  sejournait  dans  leur  ville,  et  les  seconds  de  le 
regaler  quand  it  passait  par  leur  bourg." 

VOL.  I  R 


242  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

Eighty  are  now  due  ;  Ganga  Ram  having  petitioned  in  your 
favour,  forty  of  this  will  be  remitted.  Give  a  written  declaration 
to  this  effect — that  with  a  specified  quota  you  will  take  the  field  ; 
if  not,  you  will  stand  the  consequences. 

Viz.  :  One  good  horse  and  one  matchlock,  with  appurtenances 
complete,  to  serve  at  home  and  abroad  (des  pardes),  and  to  run 
the  country  ^  with  the  Kher. 

When  the  levy  (kher)  takes  the  field,  Gopaldas  must  attend 
in  person.  Should  he  be  from  home,  his  retainers  must  attend, 
and  they  shall  receive  rations  from  the  presence.  Sawan  sudi 
das  (August  10)  S.  1782. 


No.  XVII 

Maharaja  Udaikaran  to  the  Saktawat  Shambhu  Singh.  Be 
it  known. 

I  had  annexed  Gura  to  the  fisc,  but  now,  from  favour,  restore 
it  to  you.  Make  it  flourish,  and  serve  me  at  home  and  abroad, 
with  one  horse,  and  one  foot  soldier. 

When  abroad  you  shall  receive  rations  (bhatta)  as  follows  : 
Flour     .  .   3  lb. 

Pulse     .  .   4  ounces. 

Butter  ighi)  .   2  pice  weight. 

Horses'  feed  .   4  seers  at  22  takas  each  seer,  of  daily  allow- 
ance. 

^  The  '  Daurayat '  or  runners,  the  term  applied  to  the  bands  who  swept 
the  country  with  their  forays  in  those  periods  of  general  confusion,  are 
analogous  to  the  armed  bands  of  the  Middle  Ages,  who  in  a  similar  manner 
desolated  Europe  under  the  term  routiers,  tantamount  to  our  rabars  (on 
the  road),  the  labars  of  the  Pindaris  in  India.  The  Rajput  Daurayat  has 
as  many  epithets  as  the  French  routier,  who  were  called  escorcheurs,  tard 
veneurs  (of  which  class  Gopaldas  appears  to  have  been),  mille-diables, 
Ouilleries,  eto.  From  the  Crusades  to  the  sixteenth  century,  the  nobles 
of  Europe,  of  whom  these  bands  were  composed  (like  our  Rajputs),  abandoned 
themselves  to  this  sort  of  life  ;  who,  to  use  the  words  of  the  historian, 
"  prefererent  la  vie  vagabonde  a  laquelle  ils  s'etoient  accoutumes  dans  le 
camp,  a  retourner  cultiver  leurs  champs.  C'est  alors  que  se  formerent  ces 
bandes  qu'on  vit  parcourir  le  royaume  et  etendre  sur  toutes  les  provinces 
le  fl^au  de  leurs  incUnations  destructives,  repandre  partout  I'effroi,  la  misere, 
le  deuil  et  le  desespoir ;  mettre  les  villes  a  contribution,  piller  et  incendier 
les  villages,  egorger  les  laboureurs,  et  se  livrer  a  des  acces  de  cruaute  qui 
font  fremir  "  {Diet,  de  Vancien  regime  et  des  abus  feodaux,  art.  '  Routier,' 
p.  422). 

We  have  this  apology  for  the  Rajput  routiers,  that  the  nobles  of  Europe 
had  not ;  they  were  driven  to  it  by  perpetual  aggressions  of  invaders.  I 
invariably  found  that  the  reformed  routier  was  one  of  the  best  subjects  : 
it  secured  him  from  indolence,  the  parent  of  all  Rajput  vices. 


CHARTERS  243 

If  for  defence  of  the  fort  you  are  required,  you  will  attend  with 
all  your  dependents,  and  bring  your  wife,  family,  and  chattels  ; 
for  which,  you  will  be  exempted  from  two  years  of  subsequent 
sei-vice.     Asarh  14,  S.  1834  [209]. 


No.  XVIII 

Bhiim  in  Mundkati,  or  Compensation  for  Blood,  to  Jeth 
Singh  Chondawat. 

The  Patel's  son  went  to  bring  home  his  wife  with  Jeth's  Rajputs 
as  a  guard.  The  party  was  attacked,  the  guard  killed,  and  there 
having  been  no  redress  for  the  murder,  twenty-six  bighas  have 
been  granted  in  mimdkati  ^  (compensation). 


No.  XIX 

Rawat  Megh  Singh  to  his  natural  brother,  Jamna  Das,  a  patta 
(fief)  has  been  granted,  viz.  : 

The  village  of  Rajpura,  value    .  .  .   Rupees  401 

A  garden  of  mogra  flowers^       ...  11 

Rupees         .  .        412 

Serve  at  home  and  abroad  with  fidelity  :  contributions  and 
aids  pav  according  to  custom,  and  as  do  the  rest  of  the  vassals. 
Jeth  14th,  S.  1874 


No.  XX 

Charter  given  by  the  Ttana  of  Mezvar.  accepted  and  signed  by  all  his 

Chiefs  ;   defining  the  duties  of  the  contracting  Parties. 

A.D.   1818. 

Siddh  Sri  Maharana  Dhiraj,  Maharana  Bhim  Singh,  to  all  the 
nobles  my  brothers  and  kin.  Rajas,  Patels,  Jhalas,  Chauhans, 
Chondawats,  Panwars,  Sarangdeots,  Saktawats,  Rathors,  Rana- 
wats,  etc.,  etc. 

Now,  since  S.  1822  (a.d.  1776),  during  the  reign  of  Sri  Ari 
Singh ji,'  when  the  troubles  commenced,  laying  ancient  usages 
aside,  undue  usurpations  of  the  land  have  been  made  :   therefore 

^  Mund,  '  the  head  '  ;    kati,  '  cut.' 

^  [The  double  jasmine,  Jasminum  sambac.'] 

^  The  rebelhon  broke  out  during  the  reign  of  this  prince. 


244  FEUDAL  SYSTEM  IN  RAJASTHAN 

on  this  day,  Baisakh  badi  14th,  S.  1874  (a.d.  1818),  the  Maharana 
assembling  all  his  chiefs,  lays  down  the  path  of  duty  in  new 
ordinances. 

1st.  All  lands  belonging  to  the  crown  obtained  since  the 
troubles,  and  all  lands  seized  by  one  chief  from  another,  shall  be 
restored. 

2nd.  All  Rakhwali,^  Bhum,  Lagat,^  established  since  the 
troubles,  shall  be  renounced. 

3rd.  Dhan,'  Biswa,*  the  right  of  the  crown  alone,  shall  be 
renounced. 

4th.  No  chiefs  shall  commit  thefts  or  violence  within  the 
boundaries  of  their  estates.  They  shall  entertain  no  Thugs,^ 
foreign  thieves  or  thieves  of  the  country,  as  Moghias,*  Baoris,^ 
Thoris  :  ^  but  those  who  shall  adopt  peaceful  habits  may  remain  ; 
but  should  any  return  to  their  old  pursuits,  their  heads  shall 
instantly  be  taken  off.  All  property  stolen  shall  be  made  good 
by  the  proprietor  of  the  estate  within  the  limits  of  which  it  is 
plundered  [210]. 

5th.  Home  or  foreign  merchants,  traders,  Kafilas,^  Banjaras,' 
who  enter  the  country,  shall  be  protected.  In  no  wise  shall  they 
be  inolested  or  injured,  and  whoever  breaks  this  ordinance,  his 
estate  shall  be  confiscated. 

6th.  According  to  command,  at  home  or  abroad  service  must 
be  performed.  Four  divisions  (chaukis)  shall  be  formed  of  the 
chiefs,  and  each  division  shall  remain  three  months  in  attendance 
at  court,  when  they  shall  be  dismissed  to  their  estates.  Once  a 
year,  on  the  festival  of  the  Dasahra,*  all  the  chiefs  shall  assemble 
with  their  quotas  ten  days  previous  thereto,  and  twenty  days 
subsequent  they  shall  be  dismissed  to  their  estates.  On  urgent 
occasions,  and  whenever  their  services  are  required,  they  shall 
repair  to  the  Presence. 

^  Salvamenta.  ^  Dues. 

3  Transit  dtity.  *  Ditto. 

^  Different  descriptions  of  tliieves.  [The  Mogliias  are  settled  principally 
in  E.  Mewar  •  if  not  identical  with,  they  are  closely  allied  to,  the  Baori 
(Luard,  Ethnographic  Survey,  Central  India,  App.  V.  17  ff.).  Gen.  C. 
Hervey  {Some  Records  of  Crime,  i.  386  ff.)  makes  frequent  references  to 
dacoities  committed  by  them  from  their  headquarters,  NImach.  The  Baori 
or  Bawariya  are  a  notorious  criminal  tribe  (Rose,  Glossary,  ii.  70  ff.  ;  M. 
Kennedy,  Notes  on  Criminal  Classes  in  Bombay  Presidency,  173  ff.,  198  ft'.). 
The  Thori  in  Marwar  claim  Rajput  origin,  and  are  connected  with  the  Aheri, 
or  nomad  hunters  {Census  Report,  Mdnvdr,  1891,  ii.  194).  According  to 
Rose  {op.  cit.  iii.  466)  those  in  the  Panjab  are  rather  vagrants  than  actual 
criminals.] 

^  Caravans  of  merchandise,  whether  on  camels,  bullocks,  or  in  carts. 

'  Caravans  of  bullocks,  chiefly  for  the  transport  of  grain  and  salt. 

"  On  this  festival  the  muster  of  all  the  feudal  retainers  is  taken  by  the 
Rana  in  person,  and  honorary  dresses  and  dignities  are  bestowed. 


CHARTERS  245 

7th.  Every  Pattawat  holding  a  separate  patta  from  the 
Presence  shall  perform  separate  service.  They  shall  not  unite 
or  serve  under  the  greater  Pattawats  :  and  the  sub-vassals  of  all 
such  chiefs  shall  remain  with  and  serve  their  immediate  Pattawat.^ 

8th,  The  Maharana  shall  maintain  the  dignities  due  to  each 
chief  according  to  his  degree. 

9th.  The  Ryots  shall  not  be  oppressed  :  thei'e  shall  be  no  new 
exactions  or  arbitrary  fines.     This  is  ordained. 

10th.  What  has  been  executed  by  Thakur  Ajit  Singh  and 
sanctioned  by  the  Rana,  to  this  all  shall  agree.'^ 

11th.  Whosoever  shall  depart  from  the  foregoing,  the  Maharana 
shall  punish.  In  doing  so  the  fault  will  not  be  the  Rana's.  Wiio- 
ever  fails,  on  him  be  the  oath  (an)  of  Eklinga  and  the  Maharana. 

[Here  follow  the  signatures  of  all  the  chieftains  of  rank  in 
Mewar,  which  it  is  needless  to  insert]  [211]. 

^  This  article  had  become  especially  necessary,  as  the  inferior  cliiefs, 
particularly  those  of  the  third  class,  had  amalgamated  themselves  with 
the  head  of  their  clans,  to  whom  they  had  become  more  accountable  than 
to  their  prince. 

-  Thisalludestothetreaty  which  this  chief  had  formed,  as  the  ambassador 
of  the  Rana,  with  the  British  Government. 


BOOK   IV 
ANNALS   OF  MEWAR 

CHAPTER  1 

We  now  proceed  to  the  history  of  the  States  of  Rajputana, 
and  shall  commence  with  the  Annals  of  Mewar,  and  its  princes. 

Titles  of  Mewar  Chiefs  :  descent  from  the  Sun. — These  are 
styled  Ranas,  and  are  the  elder  branch  of  the  Suryavansi,  or 
'  children  of  the  sun.'  Another  patronymic  is  Raghuvansi, 
derived  from  a  predecessor  of  Rama,  the  focal  point  of  each  scion 
of  the  solar  race.  To  him,  the  conqueror  of  Lanka,^  the  genea- 
logists endeavour  to  trace  the  solar  lines.  The  titles  of  many  of 
these  claimants  are  disputed  ;  but  the  Hindu  tribes  yield  unani- 
mous suffrage  to  the  prince  of  Mewar  as  the  legitimate  heir  to 
the  throne  of  Rama,  and  style  him  Hindua  Suraj,  or  '  Sun  of  the 
Hindus.'  ^  He  is  universally  allowed  to  be  the  first  of  the  '  thirty- 
six  royal  tribes  '  ;  nor  has  a  doubt  ever  been  raised  respecting 
his  purity  of  descent.  Many  of  these  tribes '  have  been  swept 
away  by  time  ;  and  the  genealogist,  who  abhors  a  vacuum  in  his 
mystic  page,  fills  up  their  place  with  others,  mere  scions  of  some 
ancient  but  forgotten  stem. 

Stability  of  Mewar  State. — With  the  exception  of  Jaisalmer, 
Mewar  is  the  only  dynasty  of  these  races  '  which  has  outlived 
eight  centuries  of  foreign  domination,  in  the  same  lands  where 

^  Said  to  be  Cfeylon  ;  an  idea  scouted  by  the  Hindus,  who  transfer  Lanka 
to  a  very  distant  regfon.     [The  latter  is  certainly  not  the  common  belief.] 

2  This  descendant  of  one  hundred  kings  shows  himself  in  cloudy  weather 
from  the  surya-gaukhra,  or  '  balcony  of  the  sun.' 

3  See  History  of  the  Tribes. 

247 


248  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

[212]  conquest  placed  them.  The  Rana  still  possesses  nearly  the 
same  extent  of  territory  which  his  ancestors  held  when  the  con- 
queror from  Ghazni  first  crossed  the  '  blue  waters  '  ^  of  the  Indus 
to  invade  India  ;  while  the  other  families  now  ruling  in  the  north- 
west of  Rajasthan  are  the  relics  of  ancient  dynasties  driven  from 
their  pristine  seats  of  power,  or  their  junior  branches,  who  have 
erected  their  own  fortunes.  This  circumstance  adds  to  the 
dignity  of  the  Ranas,  and  is  the  cause  of  the  general  homage 
which  they  receive,  notwithstanding  the  diminution  of  their 
power.  Though  we  cannot  give  the  princes  of  Mewar  an  ancestor 
in  the  Persian  Nushirwan,  nor  assert  so  confidently  as  Sir  Thomas 
Roe  his  claims  to  descent  from  the  celebrated  Porus,^  the  opponent 
of  Alexander,  we  can  carry  him  into  the  regions  of  antiquity 
more  remote  than  the  Persian,  and  which  would  satisfy  the  most 
fastidious  in  respect  to  ancestry. 

Origin  of  the  Rajputs. — In  every  age  and  clime  we  observe  the 
same  eager  desire  after  distinguished  pedigree,  proceeding  from 
a  feeling  which,  though  often  derided,  is  extremely  natural.  The 
Rajaputras  are,  however,  scarcely  satisfied  with  discriminating 
their  ancestors  from  the  herd  of  mankind.  Some  plume  them- 
selves on  a  celestial  origin,  whilst  others  are  content  to  be  demi- 
celestial  ;  and  those  who  cannot  advance  such  lofty  claims, 
rather  than  acknowledge  the  race  to  have  originated  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature,  make  their  primeval  parent  of  demoniac 
extraction  ;  accordingly,  several  of  the  dynasties  who  cannot 
obtain  a  niche  amongst  the  children  of  the  sim  or  moon,  or  trace 
their  descent  from  some  royal  saint,  are  satisfied  to  be  considered 
the  offspring  of  some  Titan  {Daily a).  These  puerilities  are  of 
modern  fabrication,  in  cases  where  family  documents  have  been 
lost,  or  emigration  has  severed  branches  from  the  parent  stock  ;' 
who,  increasing  in  power,  but  ignorant  of  their  birth,  have  had 
recourse  to  fable  to  supply  the  void.  Various  authors,  borrowing 
from  the  same  source,  have  assigned  the  seat  of  Porus  to  the  Rana's 

^  Nilab  from  nil,  '  blue,'  and  ah,  '  water  '  ;  hence  the  name  of  the  Nile  in 
Egypt  and  in  India  [?].  Sind,  or  Sindhu,  appears  to  be  a  Scythian  word  : 
8in  in  the  Tatar,  t  sin  in  Chinese, '  river.'  [It  is  Sanskrit,  meaning '  divider.'] 
Hence  the  inhabitants  of  its  higher  course  termed  it  aba  sin, '  parent  stream  ' ; 
and  thus,  very  probably,  Abyssinia  was  formed  by"" the  Arabians ;  '  the 
country  on  the  Nile,'  or  aba  sin.  [Abyssinia  is  '  land  of  the  Habashi,  or 
negroes.'] 

"  See  p.  47  above. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  RAJPUTS  249 

family  ;  and  coincidence  of  name  has  been  the  cause  of  the 
family  being  alternately  elevated  and  depressed.  Thus  the 
incidental  circumstance  of  the  word  Rhamnae  being  found  in 
Ptolemy's  geography,  in  countries  bordering  on  Mewar,  furnishes 
our  ablest  geographers  ^  with  a  reason  [213]  for  planting  the 
family  there  in  the  second  century  ;  while  the  commentators  ^ 
on  the  geography  of  the  Arabian  travellers  of  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries  '  discover  sufficient  evidence  in  "  the  kingdom  of  Rahmi, 
always  at  war  with  the  Balhara  sovereign,"  to  consider  him  (not- 
withstanding Rahmi  is  expressly  stated  "  not  to  be  much  con- 
sidered for  his  birth  or  the  antiquity  of  his  kingdom  ")  as  the 
prince  of  Chitor,  celebrated  in  both  these  points. 

The  translator  of  the  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea,  following 
D'Anville,*  makes  Ozene  (Ujjain)  the  capital  of  a  Porus,^  who  sent 
an  embassy  to  Augustus  to  regulate  their  commercial  intercourse, 
and  whom  he  asserts  to  be  the  ancestor  of  the  Rana.  But  to 
show  how  guarded  we  should  be  in  admitting  verbal  resemblance 
to  decide  such  points,  the  title  of  Rana  is  of  modern  adoption, 
even  so  late  as  the  twelfth  century  ;  and  was  assumed  in  conse- 
quence of  the  victorious  issue  of  a  contest  with  the  Parihara 
prince  of  Mandor,  who  bore  the  title  of  Rana,  and  who  surrendered 
it  with  his  life  and  capital  to  the  prince  of  Mewar.  The  latter 
substituted  it  for  the  more  ancient  appellation  of  Rawal ;  ^  but 
it  was  not  till  the  thirteenth  century  that  the  novel  distinction 
was  generally  recognized  by  neighbouring  powers.     Although  we 

^  D'Anville  and  Rennell.  [The  Rhamnae  have  been  identified  with  the 
Brahui  of  Baluchistan  (McCrindle,  Ptolemy,  159).  Lassen  places  them  on 
the  Nerbudda.] 

2  Maurice  and  others. 

*  Relations  anciennes  des  voyageurs,  par  Renaudot. 

*  D'Anville  {Antiquites  de  I'Inde)  quotes  Nicolas  of  Damascus  as  his 
authority,  who  says  the  letter  written  by  Porus,  prince  of  Ozene,  was  in  the 
Greek  character. 

^  This  Porus  is  a  corruption  of  Puar,  once  the  most  powerful  and  con- 
spicuous tribe  in  India  ;  classically  written  Pramara,  the  dynasty  which 
ruled  at  Ujjain  for  ages.     [This  is  not  certain  (Smith,  EHI,  60,  note).] 

*  Rawed,  or  Raul,  is  yet  borne  as  a  princely  title  by  the  Aharya  prince  of 
Dungarpur,  and  the  Yadu  prince  of  Jaisalmer,  whose  ancestors  long  ruled 
in  the  heart  of  Scjrthia.  Raoul  seems  to  have  been  titular  to  the  Scandi- 
navian chiefs  of  Scythic"  origin.  The  invader  of  Normandy  was  Raoul, 
corrupted  to  Rollon  or  Rollo.  [The  words,  of  course,  have  no  connexion  : 
Rawal,  Skt.  rajakula,  '  royal  family.'] 


250  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

cannot  for  a  moment  admit  the  Rahmi,  or  even  the  Rhamnae  of 
Ozene,  to  be  connected  with  this  family,  yet  Ptolemy  appears 
to  have  given  the  real  ancestor  in  his  Baleokouroi,  the  Balhara 
monarchs  of  the  Arabian  travellers,  the  Valabhiraes  of  Saurashtra, 
who  were  the  ancestors  of  the  princes  of  Mewar.^ 

Before  we  proceed,  it  is  necessary  to  specify  the  sources  whence 
materials  were  obtained  for  the  Annals  of  Mewar,  and  to  give  some 
idea  of  the  character  they  merit  as  historical  data  [214]. 

Sources  of  the  History. — For  many  years  previous  to  sojourn- 
ing at  the  court  of  Udaipur,  sketches  were  obtained  of  the  genea- 
logy of  the  family  from  the  rolls  of  the  bards.  To  these  was  added 
a  chronological  sketch,  drawn  up  under  the  eye  of  Raja  Jai  Singh 
of  Amber,  with  comments  of  some  value  by  him,  and  which  served 
as  a  ground-work.  Free  access  was  also  granted  to  the  Rana's 
library,  and  permission  obtained  to  make  copies  of  such  MSS.  as 
related  to  his  history.  The  most  important  of  these  was  the 
Khuman  Raesa,^  which  is  evidently  a  modern  work  founded  upon 
ancient  materials,  tracing  the  genealogy  to  Rama,  and  halting  at 
conspicuous  beacons  in  this  long  line  of  crowned  heads,  particu- 
larly about  the  period  of  the  Muhammadan  irruption  in  the  tenth 
century,  the  sack  of  Chitor  by  Alau-d-din  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  the  wars  of  Rana  Partap  with  Akbar,  during  whose 
reign  the  work  appears  to  have  been  recast. 

The  next  in  importance  were  the  Rajvilas,  in  the  Vraj  Bhakha, 
by  Man  Kabeswara  ;  *  and  the  Rajratnakar,*  by  Sudasheo  Bhat  : 
both  written  in  the  reign  of  Rana  Raj  Singh,  the  oj^ponent  of 
Aurangzeb  :  also  the  Jaivilas,  written  in  the  reign  of  Jai  Singh, 
son  of  Raj  Singh.     They  all  commence  with  the  genealogies  of  the 

^  The  Balhara  kings,  and  their  capital  Nahrwala,  or  Anhilwara  Patan, 
have  given  rise  to  much  conjecture  amongst  the  learned.  We  shall,  before 
this  work  is  closed,  endeavour  to  condense  what  has  been  said  by  ancient 
and  modern  authorities  on  the  subject ;  and  from  manuscripts,  ancient 
inscriptions,  and  the  result  of  a  personal  visit  to  this  ancient  domain,  to  set 
the  matter  completely  at  rest.  [See  p.  122  above.]  ["  Hippokoura,  the  royal 
seat  of  Baleo  Kouros  "  {Periplus,  vlii.  83).  Baleo  Kouros  has  been  identified 
with  Vilivayakura,  a  name  found  on  coins  of  the  Andhra  dynasty  (BO,  i. 
Part  ii.  158  ;   McCrindle,  Ptolemy,  179).] 

^  Khuman  is  an  ancient  title  of  the  earlier  princes,  and  still  used.  It  was 
borne  by  the  son  of  Bappa,  the  founder,  who  retired  to  Transoxiana,  and 
there  ruled  and  died  :   the  very  country  of  the  ancient  Scythic  Khomani. 

'^  Lord  of  rhyme.  *  Sea  of  gems. 


SOURCES  OF  THE  HISTORY:  KANAKSEN         251 

family,  introductory  to  the  military  exploits  of  the  princes  whose 
names  they  bear. 

The  Mamadevi  Prasistha  is  a  copy  of  the  inscriptions  ^  in  the 
temple  of  '  the  Mother  of  the  Gods  '  at  Kumbhalmer.  Genea- 
logical rolls  of  some  antiquity  were  obtained  from  the  widow  of  an 
ancient  family  bard,  who  had  left  neither  children  nor  kindred  to 
follow  his  profession.  Another  roll  was  procured  from  a  priest 
of  the  Jains  residing  in  Sandrai,  in  Marwar,  whose  ancestry  had 
enjoyed  from  time  immemorial  the  title  of  Guru,  which  they  held 
at  the  period  of  the  sack  of  Valabhipura  in  the  fifth  century, 
whence  they  emigrated  simultaneously  with  the  Rana's  ancestors. 
Others  were  obtained  from  Jain  priests  at  Jawad  in  Malwa. 
Historical  documents  possessed  by  several  chiefs  were  readily 
furnished,  and  extracts  were  made  from  works,  both  Sanskrit 
and  Persian,  which  incidentally  mention  the  family.  To  these 
were  added  traditions  or  biographical  anecdotes  furnished  in  con- 
versation by  the  Rana,  or  men  of  intellect  amongst  his  chiefs  [215], 
ministers,  or  bards,  and  inscriptions  calculated  to  reconcile  dates  ; 
in  short,  every  corroborating  circumstance  was  treasured  up 
which  could  be  obtained  by  incessant  research  during  sixteen 
years.  The  Commentaries  of  Babur  and  Jahangir,  the  Institutes 
of  Akbar,  original  grants,  public  and  autograph  letters  of  the 
emperors  of  Delhi  and  their  ministers,  were  made  to  contribute 
more  or  less  ;  yet,  numerous  as  are  the  authorities  cited,  the 
result  may  afford  but  little  gratification  to  the  general  reader, 
partly  owing  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  subject,  partly  to  the 
inartificial  mode  of  treating  it. 

Kanaksen. — At  least  ten  genealogical  hsts,  derived  from  the 
most  opposite  sources,  agree  in  making  Kanaksen  the  founder  of 
this  dynasty  ;  and  assign  his  emigxation  from  the  most  northern 
of  the  provinces  of  India  to  the  peninsula  of  Saurashtra  in  S.  201, 
or  A.D.  145.  We  shall,  therefore,  make  this  the  point  of  outset  ; 
though  it  may  be  premised  that  Jai  Singh,  the  royal  historian 
and  astronomer  of  Amber,  connects  the  line  with  Sumitra  (the 
fifty-sixth  descendant  from  the  deified  Rama),  who  appears  to 
have  been  the  contemporary  of  Vikramaditya,  a.c.  56. 

The  country  of  which  Ayodhya  (now  Oudh)  was  the  capital, 
and  Rama  monarch,  is  termed,  in  the  geographical  writings  of  the 
Hindus,  Kosala  ;  doubtless  from  the  mother  of  Rama,  whose 
^  Tiiese  inscriptions  will  be  described  in  the  Personal  Narrative. 


252  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

name  was  Kausalya.^  The  first  royal  emigrant  from  tlie  north 
is  styled,  in  the  Rana's  archives,  Kosala-putra,  '  son  of  Kosala.' 

Titles  of  the  Chiefs. — Rama  had  two  sons,  Lava  and  Kusa  : 
from  the  former  the  Rana's  family  claim  descent.  He  is  stated 
to  have  built  Lahore,  the  ancient  Lohkot  ;  ^  and  the  branch  from 
which  the  princes  of  Mewar  are  descended  resided  there  until 
Kanaksen  emigrated  to  Dwarka.  The  difficulty  of  tracing  these 
races  through  a  long  period  of  years  is  greatly  increased  by  the 
custom  of  changing  the  appellation  of  the  tribe,  from  conquest, 
locality,  or  personal  celebrity.  Sen  *  seems  to  have  been  the 
martial  termination  for  many  generations  :  this  was  followed  by 
Dit,  or  Aditya,  a  term  for  the  '  sun.'  The  first  change  in  the 
name  of  the  tribe  was  on  their  expulsion  from  Saurashtra,  when 
for  the  generic  term  of  Suryavansi  was  substituted  the  particular 
appellation  of  Guhilot.  This  name  was  maintained  till  another 
event  dispersed  the  family,  and  when  they  settled  in  [216]  Ahar,* 
Aharya  became  the  appellative  of  the  branch.  This  continued 
till  loss  of  territory  and  new  acquisitions  once  more  transferred 
the  dynasty  to  Sesoda,*  a  temporary  capital  in  the  western  moun- 
tains. The  title  of  Ranawat,  borne  by  all  descendants  of  the 
blood  royal  since  the  eventful  change  which  removed  the  seat  of 
government  from  Chitor  to  Udaipur,  might  in  time  have  super- 
seded that  of  Sesodia,  if  continued  warfare  had  not  checked  the 
increase  of  population  ;  but  the  Guhilot  branch  of  the  Suryavansi 
still  retain  the  name  of  Sesodia. 

Having  premised  thus  much,  we  must  retrograde  to  the  darker 
ages,  through  which  we  shall  endeavour  to  conduct  this  celebrated 
dynasty,  though  the  clue  sometimes  nearly  escapes  from  our 
hands  in  these  labyrinths  of  antiquity.®     When  it  is  recollected 

^  [It  is  the  other  way  :   Kausalya  took  her  name  from  Kosala.] 

^  [See  p.  116  above.] 

'  Sen,  'army';  kanak,  'gold.'  [Kanaksen  is  entirely  mythical.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  the  name  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  connexion  of 
the  great  Kushan  Emperor,  Kanishka,  with  Gujarat  and  Kathiawar  {BG,  i. 
Part  i.  101).] 

*  Ahar,  or  Ar,  is  in  the  valley  of  the  present  capital,  Udaipur. 

*  The  origin  of  this  name  is  from  the  trivial  occurrence  of  the  expelled 
prince  of  Chitor  having  erected  a  town  to  commemorate  the  spot,  where 
after  an  extraordinarily  hard  chase  he  killed  a  hare  {sasu). 

*  The  wila  fable  which  envelops  or  adorns  the  cradle  of  every  illustrious 
family  is  not  easily  disentangled.  The  bards  weave  the  web  with  skiU,  and 
it  cUngs  like  ivy  round  each  modern  branch,  obscuring  the  aged  stem,  in 


LEGEND  OF  KANAKSEN  253 

to  what  violence  this  family  has  been  subjected  during  the  last 
eight  centuries,  often  dispossessed  of  all  but  their  native  hills  and 
compelled  to  live  on  their  spontaneous  produce,  we  could  scarcely 
expect  that  historical  records  should  be  preserved.  Chitor  was 
thrice  sacked  and  destroyed,  and  the  existing  records  are  formed 
from  fragments,  registers  of  births  and  marriages,  or  from  the 
oral  relations  of  the  bards. 

Legend  of  Kanaksen. — By  what  route  Kanaksen,  the  first 
emigrant  of  the  solar  race,  found  his  way  into  Saurashtra  from 
Lohkot,  is  uncertam  :  he,  however,  wrested  dominion  from  a 
prince  of  the  Pramara  race,  and  founded  Birnagara  in  the  second 
century  (a.d.  144).  Four  generations  afterwards,  Vijayasen. 
whom  the  prince  of  Amber  calls  Nushirwan,  founded  Vijayapur, 
supposed  to  be  where  Dholka  now  stands,  at  the  head  of  the 
Saurashtra  peninsula.^  Vidarba  was  also  founded  by  him,  the 
name  of  which  was  afterwards  changed  to  Sihor.  But  the  most 
celebrated  was  the  capital,  Valabhipura,  which  for  years  baffled 
all  search,  till  it  was  revealed  in  its  now  humbled  condition  as 
Walai,  ten  miles  west  [217]  of  Bhaunagar.  The  existence  of  this 
city  was  confirmed  by  a  celebrated  Jain  work,  the  Satrunjaya 
Mahatma.^  The  want  of  satisfactory  proof  of  the  Rana's  emigra- 
tion from  thence  was  obviated  by  the  most  unexpected  discovery 
of  an  inscription  of  the  twelfth  century,  in  a  ruined  temple  on  the 
tableland  forming  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Rana'?  present 
territory,  which  appeals  to  the  '  walls  of  Valabhi '  for  the  truth 
of  the  action  it  records.  And  a  work  written  to  commemorate 
the  reign  of  Rana  Raj  Singh  opens  with  these  words  :  "In  the 
west  is  Sorathdes,^  a  country  well  known  :  the  barbarians  invaded 
it,  and  conquered  Bal-ka-nath  ;  *  all  fell  in  the  sack  of  Valab- 
hipura, except  the  daughter  of  the  Pramara."     And  the  Sandrai 

the  time-worn  branches  of  which  monsters  and  demi-gods  are  perched, 
whose  claims  of  affinity  are  held  in  high  estimation  by  thesfe  '  children  of 
the  sun,'  who  would  deem  it  criminal  to  doubt  that  the  loin-robe  (dhoti)  of 
their  great  founder,  Bapa  Rawal,  was  less  than  five  hundred  cubits  in  circum- 
ference, that  his  two-edged  sword  (khanda),  the  gift  of  the  Hindu  Proserpine, 
weighed  an  ounce  less  than  sixty-four  pounds,  or  that  he  was  an  inch  under 
twenty  feet  in  height. 

^  [Vijayapur  has  been  doubtfully  identified  with  Bijapur  in  the  Alima- 
dabad  district  (BG,  i.  Part  i.  110).] 

^  Presented  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  London. 

*  Sorath  or  Saurashtra.  *  The  '  lord  of  Bal.' 


254  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

roll  thus  commences  :  "  When  the  city  of  Valabhi  was  sacked, 
the  inhabitants  fled  and  founded  Bali,  Sandrai,  and  Nadol  in 
Mordar  des."  ^  These  are  towns  yet  of  consequence,  and  in  all 
the  Jain  religion  is  still  naaintained,  which  was  the  chief  worship 
of  Valabhipura  when  sacked  by  the  '  barbarian.'  The  records 
preserved  by  the  Jains  give  s.b.  205  (a.d.  524)  as  the  date  of  this 
event.^ 

The  tract  about  Valabhipura  and  northward  is  termed  Bal, 
probably  from  the  tribe  of  Bala,  which  might  have  been  the 
designation  of  the  Rana's  tribe  prior  to  that  of  Grahilot  ;  and 
most  probably  Multan,  and  all  these  regions  of  the  Kathi,  Bala, 
etc.,  were  dependent  on  Lohkot,  whence  emigrated  Kanaksen  ; 
thus  strengthening  the  surmise  of  the  Scythic  descent  of  the 
Ranas,  though  now  installed  in  the  seat  of  Rama.  The  sun  was 
the  deity  of  this  northern  tribe,  as  of  the  Rana's  ancestry,  and 
the  remains  of  numerous  temples  to  this  grand  object  of  Scj'thic 
homage  are  still  to  be  found  scattered  over  the  peninsula  ;  whence 
its  name,  Saurashtra,  the  coimtry  of  the  Sauras,  or  Sun-worship- 
pers ;  the  Surastrene  or  Syrastrene  of  ancient  geographers  ;  its 
inhabitants,  the  Suros  (2t'/pwv)  of  Strabo.' 

Besides  these  cities,  the  MSS.  give  Gayni  *  as  the  last  refuge 

^  Marwar. 

^  [The  date  of  the  fall  of  Valabhi  is  very  uncertain  (Smith,  EH  I,  315, 
note).  It  is  said  to*  have  been  destroyed  in  the  reign  of  Siladitya  VI., 
the  last  of  the  dynasty,  about  a.d.  776  (Duff,  Chronology  of  India,  31, 
G7,  308).] 

*  [There  is  possibly  a  confusion  with  the  Soras  of  Aehan  (xv.  8)  which 
has  been  identified  by  Caldwell  {Dravidian  Grammar,  17)  with  the  ^Qpat 
of  Ptolemy,  and  with  the  Chola  kingdom  of  Southern  India.  Surashtra  or 
Saurashtra,  '  land  of  the  Sus,'  was  afterwards  Sanskritized  into  '  goodly 
country  '  (Monier  Williams,  Skt.  Diet.  s.v. ;  BG,  i.  Part  i.  6).] 

*  Gaini,  or  Gajni,  is  one  of  the  ancient  names  of  Cambay  (the  port  of 
Valabhipura),  the  ruins  of  which  are  about  three  miles  from  the  modern 
city.  Other  sources  indicate  that  these  princes  held  possessions  in  the 
southern  continent  of  India,  as  well  as  in  the  Saurashtra  peninsula.  Tala- 
talpur  Patau,  on  the  Godavari,  is  mentioned,  which  tradition  asserts  to  be 
the  city  of  Deogir  ;  but  which,  after  many  years'  research,  I  discovered  in 
Saurashtra,  it  being  one  of  the  ancient  names  of  Kandala.  In  after  times, 
when  succeeding  dynasties  held  the  title  of  Balakarae,  though  the  capital 
was  removed  inland  to  Anhilwara  Patau,  they  still  held  possession  of  the 
western  shore,  and  Cambay  continued  the  chief  port.  [For  the  identifica- 
tion of  Gajni  with  Cambay  see  I  A,  iv.  147 ;  BG,  vi.  213  note.  The  site  of 
Devagiri  has  been  identified  with  Daulatabad  (BG,  i.  Part  ii.  136  ;  Beal, 
Buddhist  Records  of  the  Western  World,  ii.  255,  note).] 


INVADERS  OF  SAURASHTRA  255 

of  the  famUy  [218]  when  expelled  Saurashtra.  One  of  the  poetic 
chronicles  thus  commences  :  "  The  barbarians  had  captured 
Gajni.  The  house  of  Siladitya  was  left  desolate.  In  its  defence 
his  heroes  fell  ;  of  his  seed  but  the  name  remained." 

Invaders  of  Saurashtra. — These  invaders  were  Scythic,  and 
in  all  probability  a  colony  from  the  Parthian  kingdom,  which 
was  established  in  sovereignty  on  the  Indus  in  the  second  century, 
having  their  capital  at  Saminagara,  where  the  ancient  Yadu  ruled 
for  ages  :  the  Minnagara  ^  of  Arrian,  and  the  Mankir  of  the 
Arabian  geographers.  It  was  by  this  route,  through  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  that  the  various  hordes  of  Getae 
or  Jats,  Huns,  Kamari,  Kathi,  Makwahana,  Bala  and  Aswaria, 
had  peopled  this  peninsula,  leaving  traces  still  visible.  The 
period  is  also  remarkable  when  these  and  other  Scythic  hordes 
were  simultaneously  abandoning  higher  Asia  for  the  cold  regions 

^  The  position  of  Minnagara  has  occupied  the  attention  of  geographers 
from  D'Anville  to  Pottinger.  Sind  being  conquered  by  Omar,  general  of 
the  caUph  Al-Mansur  (Abbasi),  the  name  of  Minagara  was  changed  to 
Mansura,  "  une  ville  celcbre  sur  le  rivage  droit  du  Sind  ou  Mehran."  "  Ptole- 
mee  fait  aussi  mention  de  cette  ville  ;  mais  en  la  depla9ant,"  etc.  D'Anville 
places  it  about  26°,  but  not  so  high  as  Ulug  Beg,  whose  tables  make  it  26° 
40'.  I  have  said  elsewhere  that  I  had  little  doubt  that  Minnagara,  handed 
down  to  us  by  the  author  of  the  Periplus  as  the  ^uerpoTroXis  t^s  ^Kvdias,  was 
the  Saminagara  of  the  Yadu  Jarejas,  whose  chronicles  claim  Seistan  as  their 
ancient  possession,  and  in  all  probability  was  the  stronghold  {nagara)  of 
Sambos,  the  opponent  of  Alexander.  On  every  consideration,  I  am  inchned 
to  place  it  on  the  site  of  Sehwan.  The  learned  Vincent,  in  his  translation 
of  the  Peripbis,  enters  fully  and  with  great  judgment  upon  this  point,  citing 
every  authority,  Arrian,  Ptolemy,  Al-Biruni,  Edrisi,  D'Anville,  and  De  la 
Rochette.  He  has  a  note  (26,  p.  386,  vol.  i.)  which  is  conclusive,  could  he 
have  applied  it :  "  Al-Birun  [equi-distant]  between  Debeil  and  Mansura." 
D'Anville  also  says  :  "  de  Mansora  a  la  ville  nommee  Birun,  la  distance  est 
indiquee  de  quinze  parasanges  dans  Abulfeda,"  who  fixes  it,  on  the  authority 
of  Abu-Rehan  (.surnamed  Al-Biruni  from  his  birthplace),  at  26°  40'.  The 
ancient  name  of  Haidarabad,  the  present  capital  of  Sind,  was  Nerun  (^  j  »*i  ; ) 
or  Nirun,  and  is  almost  equi-distant,  as  Abulfeda  says,  between  Debal  (Dewal 
or  Tatta)  and  Mansura,  Sehwan,  or  Minnagara,  the  latitude  of  which,  accord- 
ing to  my  construction,  is  26°  11'.  Those  who  wish  to  pursue  this  may 
examine  the  Eclaircisfiemens  sur  la  Carle  de  Vlnde,  p.  37  et  seq.,  and  Dr. 
Vincent's  estimable  translation,  p.  386.  [The  site  of  Minnagara,  like  those 
of  all  the  cities  in  the  delta  of  the  Indus,  owing  to  changes  in  the  course  of 
the  river,  is  very  uncertain.  Jhajhpur  or  Mungrapur  has  been  suggested 
(McCrindle,  Ptolemy,  72,  Periplus,  1086  f.).  Nirun  has  been  identified  with 
Helai,  a  little  below  Jarak,  on  the  high  road  from  Tatta  to  Haidarabad 
(EHiot-Dowson  i.  400).] 


256  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

of  Europe  and  the  warm  plains  of  Hindustan.  From  the  first  to 
the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  various  records  exist  of 
tliese  irruptions  from  the  north.  Gibbon,  quoting  De  Guignes, 
mentions  one  in  the  second  century,  which  fixed  permanently  in 
the  Saurashtra  peninsula  ;  and  the  latter,  from  original  authorities, 
describes  another  of  the  Getae  or  Jats,  styled  by  the  Chinese 
Yueh-chi,  in  the  north  of  India.^  But  the  authority  directly  in 
point  is  that  of  Cosmas,  surnamed  Indikopleustes,  who  was  in 
India  during  the  reign  of  Justinian,  and  that  of  the  first  monarch 
of  the  Chinese  dynasty  of  Leam.^  Cosmas  [219]  had  visited 
Kalyan,  included  in  the  Balhara  kingdom  ;  and  he  mentions  the 
Ephthalites,  or  White  Huns,  under  their  king  Golas,  as  being 
established  on  the  Indus  at  the  very  period  of  the  invasion  of 
Valabhipura.' 

Arrian,  who  resided  in  the  second  century  at  Barugaza 
(Broach),  describes  a  Parthian  sovereignty  as  extending  from 
the  Indus  to  the  Nerbudda.*  Their  capital  has  already  been 
mentioned,  Minnagara.  Whether  these,  the  Abtelites  *  of  Cosmas, 
were  the  Parthian  dynasty  of  Arrian,  or  whether  the  Parthians 
were  supplanted  by  the  Huns,  we  must  remain  in  ignorance,  but 
to  one  or  the  other  we  must  attribute  the  sack  of  Valabhipura. 

^  See  History  of  the  Tribes,  p.  107,  and  translation  of  Inscription  No.  I. 
Vide  Appendix. 

^  Considerable  intercourse  was  carried  on  between  the  princes  of  India 
and  China  from  the  earliest  periods  ;  but  particularly  during  the  dynasties 
of  Sum,  Leam  and  Tarn,  from  the  fourth  to  the^eventh  centuries,  when  the 
princes  from  Bengal  and  Malabar  to  the  Panjab  sent  embassies  to  the  Chinese 
monarchs.  The  dominions  of  these  Hindu  princes  may  yet  be  identified. 
[Cosmas  flourished  in  the  sixth  century  a.d.,  and  never  reached  India  proper 
{EB,  vii.  214).] 

3  [GoUas  was  Mihiragula  (Smith,  EHI,  317).] 

*  [Ibid.  230  f.] 

^  D'Herbelot  (vol.  i.  p.  179)  calls  them  the  Haiathelah  or  Indoscythae,  and 
says  that  they  were  apparently  from  Thibet,  between  India  and  China. 
De  Guignes  (tome  i.  p.  325)  is  offended  with  this  explanation,  and  says  : 
"  Cette  conjecture  ne  pent  avoir  lieu,  les  Euthehtes  n'ayant  jamais  demeure 
dans  le  Thibet."  A  branch  of  the  Huns,  however,  did  most  assuredly  dwell 
in  that  quarter,  though  we  wiU  not  positively  assert  that  they  were  the 
AbteUtes.  The  Haihaya  was  a  great  branch  of  the  Lunar  race  of  Yayati, 
and  appears  early  to  have  left  India  for  the  northern  regions,  and  would 
afford  a  more  plausible  etymology  for  the  Haiathelah  than  the  Te-le,  who 
dwelt  on  the  waters  {ab)  of  the  Oxiis.  This  branch  of  the  Hunnish  race  has 
also  been  termed  Nephthalite,  and  fancied  one  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  [?]. 


THE  FOUNTAIN  OF  THE  SUN  257 

The  legend  of  this  event  affords  scope  for  speculation,  both  as 
regards  the  conquerors  and  the  conquered,  and  gives  at  least  a 
colour  of  truth  to  the  reputed  Persian  ancestry  of  the  Rana  :  a 
subject  which  will  be  distinctly  considered.  The  solar  orb,  and 
its  type,  fire,  were  the  chief  objects  of  adoration  of  Siladitya  of 
Valabhipura.  Whether  to  these  was  added  that  of  the  lingam, 
the  symbol  of  Balnath  (the  sun),  the  primary  object  of  worship 
with  his  descendants,  may  be  doubted.  It  was  certainly  con- 
lined  to  these,  and  the  adoption  of  '  strange  gods  '  by  the  Sur- 
yavansi  Guhilot  is  comparatively  of  modern  invention.^ 

The  Fountain  oJ  the  Sun. — There  was  a  fountain  [Surya- 
kunda)  '  sacred  to  the  sun  '  at  Valabhipura,  from  which  arose? 
at  the  summons  of  Siladitya  (according  to  the  legend)  the  seven- 
headed  horse  Saptasva,  which  draws  the  car  of  Surya,  to  bear 
him  to  battle.  With  such  an  auxiliary  no  foe  could  prevail  ; 
but  a  wicked  minister  revealed  to  the  enemy  the  secret  of  annulling 
this  aid,  by  polluting  the  sacred  foimtain  with  blood.  This 
accomplished,  in  vain  did  the  prince  call  on  Saptasva  to  save 
him  from  the  strange  and  barbarous  foe  :  the  charm  was  broken, 
and  with  it  sunk  the  dynasty  of  Valabhi.  Who  the  '  barbarian  ' 
was  that  defiled  with  blood  of  kine  [220]  the  fountain  of  the  sun,^ 
whether  Getae,  Parthian,  or  Hun,  we  are  left  to  conjecture.  The 
Persian,  though  he  venerated  the  bull,  yet  sacrificed  him  on  the 

^  Ferishta,  in  the  early  part  of  his  history  [i.  Introd.  Ixviii  f.],  observes 
that,  some  centuries  prior  to  Vikramaditya,  the  Hindus  abandoned  the 
simple  religion  of  their  ancestors,  made  idols,  and  worshipped  the  host  of 
heaven,  which  faith  they  had  from  Kashmir,  the  foundry  of  magic  super- 
stition. 

*  Divested  of  allegory,  it  means  simply  that  the  supply  of  water  was 
rendered  impure,  and  consequently  useless  to  the  Hindus,  which  compelled 
them  to  abandon  their  defences  and  meet  death  in  the  open  field.  Alau-d- 
din  practised  the  same  ruse  against  the  celebrated  Achal,  the  Khichi  prince 
of  Gagraun,  which  caused  the  surrender  of  this  impregnable  fortress.  "  It 
matters  not,"  observes  an  historian  whose  name  I  do  not  recollect,  "  whether 
such  things  are  true,  it  is  sufficient  that  they  were  behoved.  We  may  smile 
at  the  mention  of  the  ghost,  tlie  evil  genius  of  Brutus,  appearing  to  him 
before  the  battle  of  PharsaUa  ;  yet  it  never  would  have  been  stated,  had  it 
not  assimilated  with  the  opinions  and  prejudices  of  the  age."  And  we  may 
deduce  a  simple  moral  from  "  the  parent  orb  refusing  the  aid  of  his  steed  to 
his  terrestrial  offspring,"  viz.  that  he  was  deserted  by  the  deity.  Fountains 
sacred  to  the  sun  and  other  deities  were  common  to  the  Persians,  Scythians, 
and  Hindus,  and  both  the  last  offered  steeds  to  him  in  sacrifice.  Vide 
History  of  the  Tribes,  article  '  Aswamedha,'  p.  91. 

VOL.  I  S 


258  ANNATES  OF  MEWAR 

altar  of  Mithras  ;  ^  and  though  the  ancient  Guebre  purifies  with 
the  urine  ^  of  the  cow,  he  will  not  refuse  to  eat  beef  ;  and  the 
iniquity  of  Cambyses,  who  thrust  his  lance  into  the  flank  of  the 
Egyptian  Apis,  is  a  proof  that  the  bull  was  abstractedly  no  object 
of  worship.  It  would  be  indulging  a  legitimate  curiosity,  could 
we  bj^  any  means  discover  how  these  '  strange  '  tribes  obtained 
a  footing  amongst  the  Hindu  races  ;  for  so  late  as  seven  centuries 
ago  we  find  Getae,  Huns,  Kathi,  Ariaspas,  Dahae,  definitively 
settled,  and  enumerated  amongst  the  Chhattis  rajkula.  How 
much  earlier  the  admission,  no  authority  states  ;  but  mention 
is  made  of  several  of  them  aiding  in  the  defence  of  Chitor,  on  the 
first  appearance  of  the  faith  of  Islam  upwards  of  eleven  hundred 
years  ago. 

CHAPTER   2 

The  Refugee  Queen. — Of  the  prince's  family,  the  queen  Push- 
pavati  alone  escaped  the  sack  of  Valabhi,  as  well  as  the  funeral 
pyre,  upon  which,  on  the  death  of  Siladitya,  his  other  wives  were 
sacrificed.  She  was  a  daughter  of  the  Pramara  prince  of  Chan- 
dravati  [221],  and  had  visited  the  shrine  of  the  universal  mother, 
Amba-Bhavani,  in  her  native  land,  to  deposit  upon  the  altar  of 
the  goddess  a  votive  offering  consequent  to  her  expectation  of 
offspring.  She  was  on  her  return,  when  the  intelligence  arrived 
which  blasted  all  her  future  hopes,  by  depriving  her  of  her  lord, 
and  robbing  him,  whom  the  goddess  had  just  granted  to  her 
prayers,  of  a  crown.  Excessive  grief  closed  her  pilgrimage. 
Taking  refuge  in  a  cave  in  the  mountains  of  Malia,  she  was  de- 
livered of  a  son.  Having  confided  the  infant  to  a  Brahmani  of 
Birnagar  named  Kamlavati,  enjoining  her  to  educate  the  young 
prince  as  a  Brahman,  but  to  marry  him  to  a  Rajputni,^  she 

^  The  Baldan,  or  sacrifice  of  the  bull  to  Balnath,  is  on  record,  though  now 
discontinued  amongst  the  Hindus.  [Baldan  =  balidana,  '  a  general  offering 
to  the  gods.'] 

*  Pinkerton,  who  is  most  happy  to  strengthen  his  aversion  for  the  Celt, 
seizes  on  a  passage  in  Strabo,  who  describes  him  as  having  recourse  to  the 
same  mode  of  purification  as  the  Guebre.  Unconscious  that  it  may  have 
had  a  religious  origin,  he  adduces  it  as  a  strong  proof  of  the  uncleanliness  of 
their  habits. 

^  [This  corroborates  Bhandarkar's  theory  that  the  Guhilots  sprang  from 
Nagar  Brahmans.] 


GOHA  AND  THE  BHiLS  259 

mounted  the  funeral  pile  to  join  her  lord.  Kamlavati,  the 
daughter  of  the  priest  of  the  temple,  was  herself  a  mother,  and 
she  performed  the  tender  offices  of  one  to  the  orphan  prince,  whom 
she  designated  Goha,  or  '  cave-born.'  ^  The  child  was  a  source 
of  perpetual  uneasiness  to  its  protectors  :  he  associated  with 
Rajput  children,  killing  birds,  hunting  wild  animals,  and  at  the 
age  of  eleven  was  totally  unmanageable  :  to  use  the  words  of  the 
legend,  "  How  should  they  hide  the  ray  of  the  sun  ?  " 

The  Legend  O?  Goha.— At  this  period  Idar  was  governed  by  a 
chief  of  the  savage  race  of  Bhil  ;  his  name,  Mandalika.^  The 
young  Goha  frequented  the  forests  in  company  with  the  Bhils, 
whose  habits  better  assimilated  with  his  daring  nature  than  those 
of  the  Brahmans.  He  became  a  favourite  with  the  Vanaputras, 
or  '  children  of  the  forest,'  who  resigned  to  him  Idar  with  its 
woods  and  mountains.  The  fact  is  mentioned  by  Abu-1  Fazl,' 
and  is  still  repeated  by  the  bards,  with  a  characteristic  version  of 
the  incident,  of  which  doubtless  there  were  many.  The  Bhils 
having  determined  in  sport  to  elect  a  king,  the  choice  fell  on 
Goha  ;  and  one  of  the  young  savages,  cutting  his  finger,  applied 
the  blood  as  the  tika  of  sovereignty  to  his  forehead.  What  was 
done  in  sport  was  confirmed  by  the  old  forest  chief.  The  sequel 
fixes  on  Goha  the  stain  of  ingratitude,  for  he  slew  his  benefactor, 
and  no  motive  is  assigned  in  the  legend  for  the  deed.  Goha's 
name  became  the  patronymic  of  his  descendants,  who  were 
styled  Guhilot,  classically  Grahilot,  in  time  softened  to  Gehlot. 

We  know  very  little  concerning  these  early  princes  but  that 
they  dwelt  in  this  mountainous  region  for  eight  generations  ; 
when  the  Bhils,  tired  of  a  foreign  rule,  assailed  Nagaditya,  the 
eighth  prince,  while  hunting,  and  deprived  him  of  life  and  Idar. 
The  descendants  of  Kamlavati  (the  Birnagar  Brahmani),  who 
retained  the  office  of  priest  in  the  family,  Avere  again  the  pre- 
servers of  the  line  of  Valabhi.  The  infant  Bappa,  son  of  Naga- 
ditya [222],  then  only  three  years  old,  was  conveyed  to  the  fortress 
of  Bhander,*  where  he  was  protected  by  a  Bhil  of  Yadu  descent. 

^  [This  is  a  folk-etymology  to  explain  the  name  Guhilot,  probably  derived 
from  Guha  or  Guhasena  (a.d.  559-67),  the  fourth  and  apparently  the  first 
great  Valabhi  monarch  {BG.  i.  Part  i.  85).] 

2  [Mandalika  seems  to  mean  '  ruler  of  a  district '  (mandal),  (Bayley, 
Dynasties  of  Gujarat,  183).]  ^  [Ain,  ii.  268.] 

*  Fifteen  miles  south-west  of  Jharol,  in  the  wildest  region  in  India.  [In 
Gwahor  State,  IQI,  viii.  72.] 


260  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

Thence  he  was  removed  for  greater  security  to  the  wilds  of  Parasar. 
Within  its  impervious  recesses  rose  the  three-peaked  (trikuta) 
mountain,  at  whose  base  was  the  town  of  Nagindra,^  the  abode 
of  Brahmans,  who  performed  the  rites  of  the  '  great  god.'  In  this 
retreat  passed  the  early  years  of  Bappa,  wandering  through  these 
Alpine  valleys,  amidst  the  groves  of  Bal  and  the  shrines  of  the 
brazen  calf. 

The  most  antique  temples  are  to  be  seen  in  these  spots — ^within 
the  dark  gorge  of  the  mountain,  or  on  its  rugged  summit — in  the 
depths  of  the  forest,  and  at  the  sources  of  streams,  where  sites  of 
seclusion,  beauty,  and  sublimity  alternately  exalt  the  mind's 
devotion.  In  these  regions  the  creative  power  appears  to  have 
been  the  earliest,  and  at  one  time  the  sole,  object  of  adoration, 
whose  symbols,  the  serpent-wreathed  phallus  (lingam),  and  its 
companion,  the  bull,  were  held  sacred  even  by  the  '  children  of 
the  forest.'  In  these  silent  retreats  Mahadeva  continued  to  rule 
triumphant,  and  the  most  brilliant  festivities  of  Udaipur  were 
those  where  his  rites  are  celebrated  in  the  nine  days  sacred  to 
him,  when  the  Jains  and  Vaishnavas  mix  with  the  most  zealous 
of  his  votaries  ;  but  the  strange  gods  from  the  plains  of  the 
Yamvma  and  Ganges  have  withdrawn  a  portion  of  the  zeal  of  the 
Guhilots  from  their  patron  divinity  Eklinga,  whose  diwan,"  or 
viceregent,  is  the  Rana.  The  temple  of  Eklinga,  situated  in  one 
of  the  narrow  defiles  leading  to  the  capital,  is  an  immense  struc- 
ture, though  more  sumptuous  than  elegant.  It  is  built  entirely 
of  white  marble,  most  elaborately  carved  and  embellished  ;  but 
lying  in  the  route  of  a  bigoted  foe,  it  has  undergone  many  dilapi- 
dations. The  brazen  bull,  placed  under  his  own  dome,  facing  the 
sanctuary  of  the  phallus,  is  nearly  of  the  natural  size,  in  a  recum- 
bent posture.  It  is  cast  (hollow)^of  good  shape,  highly  polished 
and  without  flaw,  except  where  the  hammer  of  the  Tatar  had 
opened  a  passage  in  the  hollow  flank  in  search  of  treasure^  [223]. 

The  Marriage  of  Eappa. — Tradition  has  preserved  numerous 

^  Or  Nagda,  still  a  place  of  religious  r.esort,  about  ten  miles  north  of 
Udaipur.  Here  I  found  several  very  old  inscriptions  relative  to  the  family, 
which  preserve  the  ancient  denomination  Gohil  instead  of  Gehlot.  One  of 
these  is  about  nine  centuries  old.  [The  ancient  name  was  Nagahrida  (Erskine 
ii.  A.  106).]  ^  Ekling-ka-Diwan  is  the  common  title  of  the  Rana. 

*  Amongst  the  many  temples  where  the  brazen  calf  forms  part  of  the 
establishment  of  BaUcesar,  there  is  one  sacred  to  Nandi  alone,  at  Nain  in 
the  valley.     This  lordly  bull  has  his  shrine  attended  as  devoutly  as  was  that 


THE  MARRIAGE  OF  BAPPA  261 

details  of  Bappa's  ^  infancy,  which  resembles  the  adventures  of 
everj'  hero  or  founder  of  a  race.  The  young  prince  attended  the 
sacred  kine,  an  occupation  which  was  honourable  even  to  the 
'  children  of  the  sun,'  and  which  they  still  pursue  :  possibly  a 
remnant  of  their  primitive  Scythic  habits.  The  pranks  of  the 
royal  shepherd  are  the  theme  of  many  a  tale.  On  the  Jhal 
Jhulni,  when  swinging  is  the  amusement  of  the  youth  of  both 
sexes,  the  daughter  of  the  Solanki  chief  of  Nagda  and  the  village 
maidens  had  gone  to  the  groves  to  enjoy  this  festivity,  but  they 
were  unprovided  with  ropes.  Bappa  happened  to  be  at  hand, 
and  was  called  by  the  Rajput  damsels  to  forward  their  sport. 
He  promised  to  procure  a  rope  if  they  would  first  have  a  game  at 
marriage.  One  frolic  was  as  good  as  another,  and  the  scarf  of 
the  Solankini  was  miited  to  the  garment  of  Bappa,  the  whole  of 
the  village  lasses  joining  hands  with  his  as  the  connecting  link  ; 
and  thus  they  performed  the  mystical  number  of  revolutions 
round  an  aged  tree.  This  frolic  caused  his  flight  from  Nagda, 
and  originated  his  greatness,  but  at  the  same  time  burthened  him 
with  all  these  damsels ;  and  hence  a  heterogeneous  issue,  whose 
descendants  still  ascribe  their  origin  to  the  prank  of  Bappa  round 
the  old  mango-tree  of  Nagda.  A  suitable  offer  being  shortly 
after  made  for  the  young  Solankini's  hand,  the  family  priests  of 
the  bridegroom,  whose  duty  it  was,  by  his  knowledge  of  palmistry, 
to  investigate  the  fortunes  of  the  bride,  discovered  that  she  was 
already  married  :  intelligence  which  threw  the  family  into  the 
greatest  consternation.^  Though  Bappa's  power  over  his  brother 
shepherds  was  too  strong  to  create  any  dread  of  disclosure  as  to 
his  being  the  principal  in  this  affair,  yet  was  it  too  much  to  expect 
that  a  secret,  in  which  no  less  than  six  hundred  of  the  daughters 
of  Eve  were  concerned,  could  long  remain  such  ?  Bappa's  mode 
of  swearing  his  companions  to  secrecy  is  preserved.  Digging  a 
small  pit,  and  taking  a  pebble  in  his  hand,  "  Swear,"  cried  he, 

of  Apis  at  Memphis  ;  nor  will  Eklinga  yield  to  his  brother  Serapis.  The 
changes  of  position  of  the  Apis  at  Nain  are  received  as  indications  of  the 
fruitfuhiess  of  the  seasons,  though  it  is  not  apparent  how  such  are  contrived. 

^  Bappa  is  not  a  proper  name,  it  signifies  merely  a  '  child.'  [This  is  wrong  : 
it  is  the  old  Prakrit  form  of  bap,  '  father  '  {I A,  xv.  275  f. ;  BQ,  i.  Part  i. 
84).]  He  is  frequently  styled  Saila,  and  in  inscriptions  Sailadlsa,  '  the 
mountain  lord.' 

2  [The  legend  imphes  that  Bapa,  from  association  with  Bhils,  was  regarded 
to  be  of  doubtful  origin.] 


262  ANNALS  OF  MEWAR 

"  secrecy  and  obedience  to  me  in  good  and  in  evil ;  that  you  will 
reveal  to  me  all  that  you  hear,  and  failing,  desire  that  the  good 
deeds  of  your  forefathers  may,  like  this  pebble  (dropping  it  into 
the  pit)  fall  mto  the  Washerman's  well."  ^  They  took  the  oath. 
The  Solanki  chief,  however,  heard  that  [224]  Bappa  was  the 
offender,  who,  receiving  from  his  faithful  scouts  intimation  of  his 
danger,  sought  refuge  in  one  of  the  retreats  which  abound  in  these 
mountains,  and  which  in  after-times  proved  the  preservation  of 
his  race.  The  companions  of  Iiis  flight  were  tv/o  Bhils :  one  of 
Undri,  in  the  valley  of  the  present  capital ;  the  other  of  Solanki 
descent,  from  Oghna  Panarwa,  in  the  western  wilds.  Their 
names,  Baleo  and  Dewa,  have  been  handed  down  with  Bappa's  ; 
and  the  former  had  the  honour  of  drawing  the  tika  of  sovereignty 
with  his  own  blood  on  the  forehead  of  the  prince,  on  the  occasion 
of  his  taking  the  crown  from  the  Mori.^  It  is  pleasing  to  trace, 
through  a  series  of  ages,  the  knowledge  of  a  custom  still '  honoured 
in  the  observance.'  The  descendants  of  Baleo  of  Oghna  and  the 
Undri  Bhil  still  claim  the  privilege  of  performing  the  tika  on  the 
inauguration  of  the  descendants  of  Bappa. 

Oghna  Panarwa. — Oghna  Panarwa  is  the  sole  spot  in  India  which 
enjoys  a  state  of  natural  freedom.  Attached  to  no  State,  having 
no  foreign  communications,  living  under  its  own  patriarchal  head, 
its  chief,  with  the  title  of  Rana,  whom  one  thousand  hamlets 
scattered  over  the  forest-crowned  valleys  obey,  can,  if  requisite, 
appear  at '  the  head  of  five  thousand  bows.'  He  is  a  Bhumia  Bhil 
of  mixed  blood,  from  the  Solanki  Rajput,  on  the  old  stock  of  pure 
{ujla)  Bhils,  the  autochtho